What's Love got to do, got to do with it?
by KyleLandy
Summary: Harry wants Hermione. Draco wants Hermione. Tracey Davis wants an O on her muggle studies essay and Ron just wants to get through the year. When a love triangle blossoms between Harry, Draco and Hermione, both Tracey and Ron use it to their advantage to conduct a social experiment to see if the bad boy or the best friend gets the girl. AU with some coarse language. Chapter 5 is in.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi friends, I was so thrilled with the response that I got for Ron's Last Case that I figured why not just one more multi-chapter story which I will try my best to conclude either by Christmas or by the New Year. Unlike my other story, I will try to limit my words to like 3000-5000 words per chapter as I've been told that's the ideal length. At any rate, this time, I thought I would focus on another very popular genre. Romance.**

 **I'm using Tracey Davis as one of my protagonists because even though I am part of the Daphne Greengrass is a Slytherin goddess and Ice Queen bandwagon, I figured why not use Tracey? She takes on a very interesting character trait in my story. Now just for some context in case, anyone is confused. This is an AU where Voldemort did exist but died in the First Wizarding War. Furthermore, I'm pushing the timeline from 1991-1998 to 2011-2018. This is to avoid any anachronisms that I might accidentally put into the story. Also, some characters will be OOC but then again, it is an AU.**

 **Without further ado, onwards we go and please do review if you can. Love you all: ]**

 **Disclaimer: It ain't mine.**

 **WHAT'S LOVE, GOT TO DO, GOT TO DO WITH IT?**

Chapter 1: Introduction to Love

If there was one word to describe what Tracey was feeling, that word was flabbergasted. She had worked hard on her Muggle Studies essay, a subject that she had been forced to take and despite her tumultuous attitude during class, she always believed that Professor Charity Burbage was, at the very least, a reasonable woman who could distinguish an Outstanding Essay from the other pieces of tripe that Tracey's other classmates constantly fed to her in class.

"Miss Davis, I simply cannot bump your grade any higher." Professor Burbage sighed as she handed the parchment over to Tracey.

"Exceeding Expectations?! Do I look like Pansy Parkinson to you?" Tracey sighed as Professor Burbage gave her a frown.

"Miss Davis, judging by your topic on why we should eliminate Sorting in Hogwarts so that we can follow the Muggle way of progress with the times, don't you find your comparison to Miss Parkinson whom you have on a number of occasions, insulted to be quite frankly, hypocritical?"

"I just don't see how come I only got an EE!" Tracey grumbled as she ignored her professor. "This essay is some of my best work. I dare you to find something wrong about it."

"Well, the biggest issue that I have with your essay, Miss Davis, is that you are too wrapped up in your own view that you wouldn't even consider other viewpoints. You criticise the system without pointing out anything positive about it."

"Some would call that being direct and driven." Tracey retorted.

"Some would call it being stubborn and blinded!" Burbage snapped before softening her expression. "Look, Miss Davis, I like you. You are indeed the very definition of a determined and strong-willed individual but in order to make a good argumentative essay, you need to evaluate your viewpoints rather than put forth an argument that simply bashes the system and whitewashes over all the good. Weigh the good versus the bad. Show me how sorting should be abolished and not what's wrong with it."

"Sorting should be abolished because it brings about a plethora of detrimental effects, the worst being that anyone who is put in Slytherin is unfairly labelled as being a pureblood supremacist or an evil sorcerer. It also forces us to become what the house wants us to become rather than allow us to develop our own identity. Godric! Rowena! Helga! Salazar! They founded this school over a thousand years ago; a time where marrying a fourteen-year-old was commonplace! Now, we call that pedophilia! And you want us to follow such a system?!" Tracey cried hotly as she folded her arms across her chest.

Professor Burbage sighed. "I'm not saying that I don't agree with some of your points because I do, _Tracey_ , but the problem with you is that you're too brash. Too negative. You rather bash something for its flaws rather than evaluate the issue dispassionately. Maybe what you needed, after all, was a partner."

"Oh no," Tracey said, stomping her foot. "I'm not working with anyone."

"But what about…"

"No. Not anyone."

"Well, then take the grade." Professor Burbage said as she turned around. "I was going to give you another chance but if you insist…"

"Wait," Tracey said as Burbage turned around to smirk at her. If there was one thing everyone knew about Tracey Davis, it's that she was a grade whore. "Okay, fine. Just no one from MY house."

"Excellent. I have someone in mind."

"Who?" Tracey asked but Professor Burbage shook her head.

"Not so fast. First, the assignment. What I would want you to do, Miss Davis is for you and your partner to write an essay NO longer than three feet in length. The essay can be in a variety of forms for your choosing. You can write an argumentative essay, a discourse, a discussion, a reflective essay, whatever suits your cup of tea. The only rule I have is that you need to use Muggle sources or examples in your essay. For the purposes of my experiment, you and your partner will be excused from your NEWT exams and your essay will be the only form of grading I will do. You and your partner may be excused from classes to work on the topic. Now, here's the kicker. You can either choose your partner or choose your topic. What will it be, Miss Davis?"

Tracey thought for a moment. Any topic was easy enough for her to approach and she knew that whatever Miss Burbage had in store for her, she was more than up to the task. A partner, however, was a different story. Tracey wasn't what you would describe as a sociable girl. Slytherins were very much disliked by the other houses and Tracey Davis did herself no favours with her brash and cynical attitude. She never saw the need to make friends with people you only knew for seven years before never seeing them again. She wasn't like Pansy, who would do anything for attention, or Daphne, who was gorgeous and often the girl of many male wanking fantasies. Tracey was just Tracey and in this case, choosing a partner she could ,at the very least, tolerate was crucial to her success.

"You pick the topic. I'll choose my partner."

As soon as Professor Burbage uttered the topic, Tracey Davis only had a single response in mind.

 _Fuck._

….

"So, Ron, do I have your permission?" Seamus said as the five boys entered the dormitory after dinner. Ron gave Seamus a confused look.

"Permission for what?"

"Weren't you listening?" Seamus sighed as he placed an arm around Ron. "I asked you if you would mind if I asked Lavender out."

"Why do you want to ask out Lavender?" Neville cringed before noticing Ron stare at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean any offense."

"Trust me, Neville. None taken." Ron said as he threw his books on his bed. "But Longbottom has a point. Why do you want to go out with my ex?"

"Dean!" Seamus called out to his mate who was busy putting up his new West Ham poster. "How did Ron describe his relationship with Lavender?"

"Nothing but tits and shagging," Dean replied as he smirked at Ron who groaned as Neville cringed once more.

"Exactly. And my little Finnigan here could use some exercise." Seamus replied gleefully to which Neville responded. "You're a pig, Seamus."

"An honest pig," Seamus said as he turned his attention to Ron. "So, mate, do I have your blessing?"

"Bloody hell, what do you need my blessing for?" Ron grumbled as he tried to put out all thought of Lavender Brown out of his head. "Just go for her, mate."

"No can do, mate," Seamus replied, sounding serious. "This is the bro code." Dean groaned out loud as Neville gave Seamus a puzzled look. "Bro code?"

"I thought the first rule of this bro code is bros before hoes?" Dean said as he smirked at Seamus who glared at him. "And I believe, the second rule is no sex with your bro's ex."

"This is why we refer to the amendment," Seamus said as Neville still looked confused. "The amendment clearly states that if you intend to date with your bro's ex-mate, you need to wait at least a month and have your bro's clear permission to do so which I'm asking for."

"So are all of us bounded by these rules?" Neville asked as Seamus nodded before turning to Ron. "So, Ron, what do you say?"

"Huh… what?" Ron replied, not paying attention as he wafted through the latest edition of Seeker Weekly.

"Ron, do I or do I not have your permission…"

"YES! GO FOR IT!" Ron roared as he turned his attention back to the magazine. "Merlin, if you want Lavender, you have my blessing."

"YOU HEARD IT!" Seamus said as he pointed to a puzzled Neville and Dean who rolled his eyes. " I have approval!"

"Wait, back up a bit," Neville said. "What other rules of the Bro Code are there and why do I have to live by them?"

"Because you're our bro, Neville, yeesh," Seamus replied as he shook his head. "There are several rules that you need to acquaint yourself with, Neville, if you want us as your bros. In fact, another rule of mine applies to Harry here…Harry?"

All four boys, including Ron who had just thrown the magazine away in disgust on yet another disparaging article on the Chudley Cannons, turned to Harry who had flocked to his bed with a smile on his face. His eyes were shut though one could see that Harry was clearly in a state of pure bliss. Giving the others a wicked grin, Seamus tiptoed towards his friend before conjuring up a slug into his right ear.

"Mmhmmm that feels goooodddd….wait…what the…" Harry said as his eyes flew open and he turned his head around. "WHAT THE HELL!" Harry roared as he launched himself away from the slug, rubbing his ear frantically while the other boys were howling in laughter. "That was not funny, guys!"

"Serves you right for dozing off in your bed while we're having a conversation, Harry." Seamus replied. "You know the rules. No wanking off when your mates are awake."

"So you guys wank off when I'm asleep?" Neville cried in horror.

"What's up with you anyways?" Ron asked as he turned his attention to his best friend who was glaring daggers at Seamus.

"Nothing." Harry snapped as he flipped Seamus off. "Just thinking."

"About Hermione Granger." Dean chuckled as Harry turned his glare over to him.

"What about Hermione?" Ron asked.

"You didn't know? She's single. Broke up with Krum during the summer." Seamus said as he looked at Ron quizzically. "What kind of a best friend are you?"

"Why didn't she tell me?! Did you know, Harry?" Ron said as Harry began to blush red.

"She didn't want many people to know, Ron. You know how overprotective you can be…" Harry said to which Ron gave a snort.

"Please! That's only to Ginny and you know it!" Ron roared ."Why didn't she tell me? Am I not her best friend as well?"

"She didn't want to draw too much attention to herself," Harry said as he sat next to Ron, hoping to pacify him. "Besides, I didn't even know until I accidentally overheard her talk to Ginny and she swore me to secrecy, mate. What was I to do?"

"Tell me, you prat!"

"Bro code rules, Harry," Seamus said as Harry glared at him. "Now you got to do something for Ron."

"Ron, I'm really sorry…" Harry started to apologise only for Ron to raise his hand.

"Give me the Cloak and we call it even. I want to go smoke a fag tonight." Ron said as Harry nodded his head.

"Okay, now back to these rules," Neville said as he turned to Seamus. "What does this have to do with Harry?"

"Well, Mr. Longbottom," Seamus said as he cleared his throat, before speaking in his best impression of a smug professor. "Another rule concerning the bro code is that once a bro calls dibs on someone, you have to abide by it. Basically, we all know that Harry here has had a hard-on for Hermione ever since the fifth year and if any one of us wants a go at her, well, that's not allowed."

"That's dragon dung," Ron said as he shook his head. "Hermione is not Harry's girlfriend."

"True," Seamus said. "But how would you feel if someone went for your crush? I mean, let's face it. Hermione Granger is one of the _finest_ girls in the school, a close second to the great Daphne Greengrass herself so it's natural that right now, all the boys in this school are on full alert to cash in on her recent breakup."

"To be a rebound," Dean replied as he rolled his eyes once more. "Any guy who goes after Hermione now would be no more than a rebound."

"Normally, I would agree with you, Thomas." Seamus grinned. "But there are two factors you haven't considered. The first is that Hermione and Krum broke up over the summer so there were at least two months for her to get over her boy toy. The second is that this is our seventh year, our final year in Hogwarts. The year where romance blooms. Love prevails. Crushes turned into love partners. Hermione may be driven, she may be motivated by work, she may be focused on other things but I assure you, mates, she is looking for love. Or a fuck, I don't judge."

Dean, Ron, and Neville flinched at Seamus last line though Harry appeared to be deep in thought. "Seamus, what do you mean the boys are on full alert?"

"Well, I'm thinking that because it is Hermione Granger," Seamus explained. "Lots of boys are going to try our luck, not to mention our nasty, ferrety Casanova, Draco Malfoy."

Ron snorted as Harry turned green at the mention of Malfoy. "Hermione hates Draco! She won't go for him."

"Mate, I'm not Draco's friend and I hate the bloke's guts but you got to admit, he's already attained quite the number of gals on his list. Trust me, blokes like Malfoy relish a challenge and Hermione Granger is fair game."

"She won't fall for him, right, Harry?" Ron said as he turned to Harry, only to see the wizard pining up his Prefect's badge. "Harry, where are you heading to?"

"To the Head Girl's room," Harry said as he pinned his badge. "I think that Hermione and I should start patrolling a little earlier."

"This has nothing to do with the fact that Draco's Head Boy now, would it?" Seamus sniggered as Harry shot him a dirty look before disappearing from the dorms. Ron turned to glare at Seamus.

"Bloody hell, mate, lay off him," Ron growled before throwing himself onto his bed.

"I'm just looking out for him," Seamus said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Love can be a bitch."

….

"So, did you hear the news?" Pansy said as she made a face. "Granger is apparently single again."

"Granger's single?" Crabbe and Goyle cried in unison, earning a glare from Pansy.

"Yes and why anyone would want to date that trollop of a witch is beyond me," Pansy said in a loud voice, causing Tracey to roll her eyes. It was obvious to their little group that Pansy was only saying it to get a reaction from Draco. What surprised Tracey was Draco's reaction.

"She's not too bad," Draco said as everyone in the group stopped in their tracks.

"Not too bad?" Daphne said as Blaise cocked his eyebrow at Draco. "You do recall that she slapped your face back in our third year."

"That…was a lifetime ago," Draco said nonchalantly while shrugging his shoulders. "She's not too bad to work with and even I have to admit, Granger does look good."

"She does," Blaise said as Pansy let out a derisive scoff. "But you don't stand a chance with her."

"Is that a challenge, Blaise?" Draco said as he smirked at him. "Because last I checked, the last two birds you said I couldn't handle ended up in my bed."

"I admit I underestimated you, Malfoy," Blaise said as he sneered at him. "But we're talking about Hermione Granger here. Queen of the Gryffindors. Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley's best friend. And let's not forget, she hates your bleeding guts. Can't say I blame her, what's with all the Mudblood remarks you've called her over the years."

"I've stopped calling people that." Draco snapped.

"You haven't stopped insulting Potter or Weasley." Blaise countered.

"That's because Potter's an arrogant arse and Weasley's just an imbecile," Draco said as he grinned at his group. "Watch me, I'll get Hermione Granger before we graduate."

"Do I smell a wager, Draco?" Blaise asked as all eyes turned to Draco who looked momentarily stunned before fixing Blaise one of his famous sneers. "What's the wager, then?"

"If you win, you'll get that classic one-of-a-kind Firebolt 90s series broom of mine, courtesy of one of my mother's jilted lovers. I believe it will be a perfect gift for daddy dearest?" Blaise replied as Draco gave a slight gulp. The broom was one his father had sought after very much and such a gift would aid Draco in inheriting his family's fortune much sooner than expected. "And if you win?"

"One hundred Galleons," Blaise exclaimed, earning gasps of awe at the amount. "Such are the stakes."

"Done," Draco said immediately as the boys shook hands. Throughout the group came a series of differing reactions to Pansy moaning at Draco's choice, Daphne rolling her eyes at what she believed was another testament to male ego while Crabbe and Goyle howled in approval. Tracey, however, was observing the situation with mild interest, a thought brewing in her head.

"I have to go. I'll see you all later." Tracey replied as Daphne raised her eyebrow. "Bur- bag full of shite gave me another assignment. I need to go think."

"Watch out for prefects," Draco said to which Tracey rolled her eyes. "Please, why do you think I keep you around, Head Boy?" With that, Tracey headed towards her favourite spot in the castle as Pansy's annoying voice called out to her, drowning as she turned the corner.

"Don't forget about Millicent's party! You need to bring…"

….

Tracey Davis was cursing the day she decided to take up Muggle studies. Unfortunately, the subject was a necessary evil. Ever since she was young, Tracey wanted to become a journalist and writer. Her parents were her biggest fans with her father even saying that Tracey Davis was such a journalistic name. Rita Skeeter, despite her occasional nonsensical and obviously biased articles, was her hero, a woman who paved the way for young witches like herself to take her place in an otherwise male-dominated field. Yet the Daily Prophet had some harsh NEWT requirements and a good grade in Muggle Studies was mandatory. Of course, an EE was more than good enough but Tracey, like Daphne and Hermione, was a perfectionist. Nothing would stop her from being the best, a trait she attested to the reason for her being placed in Slytherin.

As she walked up the Astronomy Tower, Tracey gave a sigh of contention as she felt the cold breeze of the Scottish Highlands hit her right in the face. The air was like a fresh bucket of ice-cold water being splashed across her face, giving her a renewed sense of strength and determination to pursue her goals. She disliked the cold dampness of the dungeons and the thought of Slytherins being forced to live underground while the rest of the houses were soared to lofty heights was another form of discrimination she would abolish with her new role as executive editor of the Daily Prophet. For now, she had to settle her expectations as Tracey frowned at the sight that stood before her.

On her favourite balcony, sitting leisurely as if he owned the place was a person she wished would just disappear or perhaps, even topple over the ledge. Bracing herself for an argument and readying herself for an unpleasant encounter, Tracey strode over to the balcony, not even glancing at the boy's face as she sat across from him while pulling out a cigarette of her own.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Ron snarled as the redhead narrowed his eyes upon her.

Tracy ignored him , of course, her face was a mask of indifference as she tuned out the irritating voice of the Weasley boy. Her mind was solely focused on her task at hand and the topic that Burbage had given her. It was somewhat fitting, that in her final year of Hogwarts, Tracey Davis was forced to confront the very subject that for the longest time, had haunted her.

 _Love_

….


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi friends, thanks for the reviews and the reads! Here's the second chapter of the story. I intend to post a chapter a day and will try my best to do so. If there are any grammatical mistakes, please ignore it. Sorry, I have a splitting headache and proofreading this chapter just made me dizzy.**

 **Without further ado, onwards we go and please do review my story if you can. Love you all: ]**

 **Disclaimer: It ain't mine.**

 **WHAT'S LOVE, GOT TO DO, GOT TO DO WITH IT?**

Chapter 2: The Experiment

To say that Ron was annoyed was an understatement. As far as he was concerned, the Astronomy Tower was only free on certain nights when most of the week, it was used by an assortment of professors, least of whom was Professor Aurora Sinistra whose, classes, after dinnertime could go for as long as three hours. Still, the Astronomy Tower was the place to be, being the highest point in Hogwarts and gives the best view to anyone who wished to immerse themselves either high within the starry night sky or absorb the breath-taking landscape of the mountainside below. This was one of Ron's favourite places to go as he flicked the dying embers of his cigarette to the grass down below. However, all that had changed the moment Tracey Davis showed up.

It wasn't that Ron had a history with Tracey Davis, to be honest, he hardly knew her except for her being part of Pansy's crew. Yet Tracey was a Slytherin and while she didn't take part in insulting his family on a daily basis as Malfoy did, she certainly didn't say anything to stop it either. _Why couldn't it be Daphne Greengrass?!_ Ron sighed as he thought of the blonde-haired beauty that had charmed the hearts of boys in Hogwarts. Greengrass had a sort of sultry allure to her aura, her beauty blinding many to her condescending attitude. To put it plainly, in Seamus's words, boys would gladly sleep with a Blast-Ended Skrewt just to spend a few seconds in her presence.

So caught up with his thoughts that Ron realised the cool breeze had turned into a freezing nightmare as he pulled Harry's cloak to cover him. It was then that Ron realised that Tracey, who had been ignoring him before, was now eying him with a curious stare.

…

It took only a moment.

"What? Never seen a floating head before?" Ron replied as the cloak made his entire body invisible with the exception of his head and hands. Tracey, who had been momentarily stunned, reverted back to her cold demeanour as she narrowed her eyes.

"Pity. That's about the only part of you that I really didn't want to see. Not to mention, you don't use it much, if at all."

"Bloody hell, go back to being quiet. I liked it better when you pretended I didn't exist." Ron retorted as he took another drag of his cigarette.

"Well if me being quiet is what bothers you, then why don't you just leave? Some of us actually prefer being alone rather than being Potter's sidekick." Tracey drawled as she looked away from him

"Oooo…that's rich coming from Malfoy's lackey. Or is it bitch? You know what. I prefer bitch." Ron snapped.

Before Tracey could fire a retort, the loud creaking of a door being opened could be heard. Both looked at each other in shock before Ron grinned at Tracey.

"Guess you should cast a Disillusionment Charm then," Ron said as he threw the cloak over himself. Tracey weighed her options. The Tower had very few hiding places and no doubt, if a professor caught her, she would be punished greatly. Contrary to popular belief, Professor Snape had favourites within his own house and Tracey knew that he would not think twice about throwing her into detention. Nor could she perform a successful Disillusionment Charm. Without giving it another thought as the footsteps drew nearer, Tracey ran towards where Ron was hidden and huddled under the cloak.

"Hey!" Ron said as the pair collapsed on the floor next to the ledge. "Get your own damn cloak."

"Listen, Weasley! I don't like this any more than you do but rest assured, if I get caught, I will throw you under the bus as well."

If looks could kill, Tracey would be dead multiple times. Grumbling to himself, Ron pulled the cloak over the pair while trying his best to tuck his long legs.

"Merlin, Weasley! Bring those chicken legs in." Tracey whispered as Ron tried unsuccessfully to pull his legs. Stifling a silent growl, Ron grabbed Tracey by the waist and pulled her onto his lap. His sudden movement took Tracey by surprise as she stifled a yelp before turning to glare at him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Ron retorted as Tracey felt his breath on her face. It was strange, having never spoken to Ron in seven years and now being forced to sit on his lap while their faces were inches apart. Tracey could feel a multitude of emotions swirling about her, from anger, to rage, to disgust, to…to…. are those butterflies?

"It's Sinistra," Ron whispered as Tracey watched as the professor fiddled with the telescope. The pair sat there awkwardly as they listened for Sinistra's voice and movements as the professor continued to work. "I don't think she's leaving anytime soon."

"Well, let's hope she does," Tracey said as she tried to squirm for a better seating position. "You better not get any ideas, Weasley."

"Oh right, because that's what I want right now. To have Tracey Davis sit on my lap."

"Don't pretend you don't…wait, what is that?" Tracey said as she felt a certain hardness poking at her rear. Ron looked down before groaning.

"It's my wand."

"YOUR WHAT?!" Tracey said as she felt a blush on her face. _What the hell…_

"Jeez, woman. My wand." Ron whispered as the hardness disappeared and Ron flashed his wand in front of her. "Sorry," Ron said as he placed it by his side.

"No problem," Tracey replied as she started to wonder why her face was so red. Why did it feel so hot all of a sudden? Surely, it couldn't be…

"She's gone," Ron said as he squirmed to take a peek.

"She's what?"

"Move," Ron said as, without warning, Tracey felt herself being pushed off his lap while Ron stood up, stretching and groaning about.

"Ever the gentleman, Weasley," Tracy exclaimed icily as she stood to her feet. _Just when I was beginning to feel comfortable…wait WHAT AM I SAYING?_

Ron said nothing as he glared at her. Picking up his wand and the cloak, Ron turned around to face her. "Well, I think we can both agree that this was an unpleasant experience, Davis, so let's not talk about it and the Tower is all yours. Goodbye."

"Wait," Tracey exclaimed before Ron could take another step. "You can't go just yet. What if she's waiting outside or just taking her time to walk down the stairs? Any noise you make can alert her to our presence. Just give it like five minutes if you want to leave."

Ron considered his options before shrugging his shoulders and walking over to the ledge. Looking up at the night sky and seeing the stars that gleam above her, Tracey sighed as she pulled out her cigarette box. Burbage's topic was really getting to her and another drag of a cigarette would calm her nerves. Sneaking a glance back at Ron, she could see the lanky wizard fiddling with his wand as he stared towards the Quidditch Pitch. Something about his burning red hair and iridescent blue eyes made him quite a unique sight to behold, especially in the dark background of the night. Looking at her cigarette box, Tracey turned to utter the famous three words that more often than not, led to the start of a friendship.

"Want a smoke?"

….

"Thanks," Ron said as he lifted his lit cigarette.

"No problem," Tracey replied as she took a drag on her cigarette. "Least I could do since you shared the cloak with me. How did you get that anyways?"

"It's not mine. It's Harry's." Ron said as he tucked the cloak between his other arm.

"Figures. Those things aren't cheap." Tracey said as Ron raised her eyebrow. "Not that I'm saying you can't afford it. Just, well, you know." Tracey backtracked as Ron took another drag

"Oh, I do," Ron replied icily. "We Weasleys can't possibly afford such luxuries. Always having to leech off our friends."

"That's not what I meant."

"Certainly sounds like it."

"Merlin, you are a prat." Tracey snapped. "I was just asking, not insinuating about your wealth. I couldn't care less where you come from, Weasley, nor how much money you and your family make."

"Well, it's hard to know when you're talking to a Slytherin, particularly one who stands with Malfoy and his ferrets!" Ron argued.

"Well, thanks for putting us all in the same boat!" Tracey snapped. "Oh, Merlin forbid that a Slytherin could be kind and understanding. No, no, we're all monsters! We're all evil!"

"Not all!" Ron countered. "But most of you are. Pedalling about their pureblood nonsense of yours."

"Urgghhh, will that never cease? Don't you know what you're doing, Weasley? You're stereotyping." Tracey retorted hotly as she poked Ron with her finger. "You think that just because there are bad eggs in our batch, that all of us must be the same! How noble of you Gryffindors. You value courage and loyalty and yet despite all the goodness that you proclaim to have, you're nothing but a bunch of self-righteous bigots who are so close-minded."

"What…" Ron said as he tried to process her words.

"Don't you dare act all high and mighty to me, Weasley," Tracey shouted, now on a roll. "Even though we've never spoken, don't think for a minute that I can't infer the type of person you are. Hot-headed, stubborn prat who thinks that Gryffindor is the best while other houses should just fall at your feet. Or is that how you prefer your woman? Don't think I don't know about you and that Lavender Brown _.Ohhhh Won-Won, have you seen my bits? Are they big enough? Squeeze them, won't you? Ohhhh, your hands feel sooooo gooood. Weasley is my King!"_ Tracy replied as she mimicked Lavender's high-pitched voice while doing an impression of her thrusting her breasts to Ron. As soon as she was done, Tracey felt a tinge of regret. After all, Lavender hadn't done anything to her and she was his ex-girlfriend. Before she could apologise, Tracey studied Ron's face, expecting a slew of curse words to be thrown at her by a furious face. Yet, Ron had a strange look as he gaped at her before doing the last thing she would expect.

Ron started to chuckle.

Tracey was dumbfounded. Surely he would be insulted? But Ron kept laughing and laughing and soon, the infectious nature of his laugh was too much for Tracey to bear. She tried to stifle a giggle before the dam broke and she too nearly collapsed with laughter.

…..

"For the record, Lavender isn't like that," Ron said, as soon as the laughter died down. Tracey noted how Ron was smiling at her. It was strange to her just how much a Weasley's emotions could affect those around them. Make a Weasley mad and chances are, you're locked inside a fuming argument but when they're in a positive mood, you couldn't help but laugh along. One of her favourite memories had been when Fred and George Weasley did the ultimate prank with fireworks and a swamp in order to get rid of the useless Professor Umbridge out of the school. It was one of those few moments when students from all houses came in unity to get rid of her. Of course, Malfoy and a few others had been a little miffed, with their loss of power but even Draco had to admit, Umbridge's insistence on only taking a theoretical approach to work made it difficult for them to improve in their magic.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry if I didn't defend you against Malfoy. He was out of line targeting your family like that." Tracey replied as Ron's smile began to widen.

"I'm sorry too. For what I said about Slytherins. It's just…difficult when you're in my position." Ron replied as Tracey nodded. "Truce, Tracey?"

"Truce, Ron," Tracey replied as she smiled at the use of first names.

"So, Tracey, what brings you up here?" Ron replied as Tracey groaned. For a moment, she had forgotten all about Burbage's stupid assignment.

"I have to do an essay about love for Muggle Studies. Burbage says that I have to find a partner and that she will excuse me from classes as well as NEWTs as long as I work hard on this."

"You don't have to attend classes? Wicked!" Ron replied as Tracey smiled at him.

"Yeah, but I still have to pick a partner. Plus the topic is vague enough as it is. Love can mean anything, and it encompasses so much. If only this wasn't a requirement, I would just drop the class."

"Why is it a requirement?"

"Because I want to be a journalist," Tracey replied proudly. "Join the Daily Prophet."

"Ewww… really?" Ron said before stopping himself as soon as he saw Tracey's face. "Not that I don't think you'll be a great writer, it's just Harry and me don't care much for the Prophet. Too much nonsense in their articles."

"I concur, Ron," Tracey said before seeing Ron's face. "That means I agree."

"Oh! Why didn't you just say that?"

"Never mind," Tracey said as she heaved a sigh. "But at any rate, I have to find a partner and trust me, that's the real problem."

Ron thought for a moment. "What about your friends? Daphne? Malfoy?"

Tracey gave a mirthless laugh. "Please. Look, my friends are gems but they're hardly the best when it comes to collaborating on work. Not to mention, they don't take Muggle Studies except for Draco who takes them so that he can get a good high NEWT score and Pansy who takes them for Draco. Trust me, I rather much like working alone." Tracey replied as she turned to Ron.

And there it was. The moment where everything changed.

"Say, Ron? You take Muggle Studies, don't you?" Tracey said as Ron nodded.

"My dad works for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office in the Ministry. Besides, with Harry and Hermione, I thought I would at least guarantee myself an Acceptable."

"Why don't you pair up with me?" Tracey asked as Ron gave her a blank stare.

"You want to work with me? Really?" Ron said as Tracey nodded.

"I mean, well, we both have differing personalities. We both see things differently not to mention it would be nice to have a male's perspective on love. Plus, I know now that I can tolerate you and trust me, that makes a difference."

"Thanks…er…I think." Ron replied as he pondered about her request. "But really…you want to…"

"You get to skip classes and we won't be working on the essay most of the time," Tracey said. "That way, you get to study for your other subjects."

Ron made a face as Tracy grunted in frustration. "I mean, that way you get more time to play Quidditch."

"Now, you're talking!" Ron said as he extended his hand. "I'm in."

"Great" Tracey said as she beamed at him. "Now, I think we should discuss…"

Ron groaned.

"What?!" Tracey cried sharply.

"I just agreed to be your partner and I know you're eager to start but it's a nice night so why don't we just take a break and enjoy this moment," Ron said as he stretched his hand out to the sky. Tracey was inclined to retort but as soon as her eyes stared up at the twinkling diamonds on the black canvas of the night, she felt a weight fall off her shoulders as she nodded back at Ron.

"Let's talk about something else," Ron said as he stared up at the beautiful September moon. "Do Lavender and me really sound like that, you know, when we were dating?"

"It's Lavender and I, Ron," Tracey said as Ron made a face. "And well, I might have exaggerated some things but to me, it doesn't seem like your relationship was built on love, or rather, it was built more on…."

"Sex," Ron said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm a guy. Lavender's hot. I figured, why not? I know, I know, I'm a git."

"Yeah, you are but not for that," Tracey said as Ron looked at her with curiosity. "Physical attraction is the foundation of love and as much as we want to deny it, you can't fall in love or even make love with someone you're not physically attracted to."

"Yeah, that's true," Ron said. "But unfortunately, or fortunately in Seamus's case, that's all Lavender was. She and I shagged a lot but there really isn't anything more to it. Soon, she just became clingy and I…"

"…took the coward's way out by waiting for her to break up with you." Tracey sniggered as Ron glared at her. "What?! Come on, everyone saw that legendary fight you and her had in the Great Hall especially when she tried to throw the pie at Granger."

"She thought Hermione and I were hooking up behind her back." Ron grimaced at the memory of the day.

"Speaking of Granger, I heard that she's single now. Better tell her to be careful, boys are on the prowl."

"Don't I know it?" Ron said as his thoughts shifted to Harry.

Tracey sighed. "I don't get it. How do girls like Hermione Granger and Daphne Greengrass get boys to go crazy?"

Ron gave her a smirk. "It's because of the system."

"System?" Tracey remarked with mild curiosity.

"Yeah, it's just something that Seamus made up. Don't worry, he's just spewing crap."

"No, come on. Tell me about this system." Tracey insisted as Ron sighed.

"Fine. The system involves categorising girls. Now, each boy sees the...er….what did he call it…physical appeal of a girl differently. According to Seamus, each girl always falls under a certain type and there are five types of girls. Pretty, cute, nice, hot and lastly, fineeeee" Ron said as he slurred over the last word.

"Fine?"

"Yeah, now pay attention. This only refers to girls who we think are attractive. There is another category of course…"

"You mean ugly."

"I mean troll," Ron said as Tracey smacked him on his arm. "Okay, fine ugly yes but we don't talk about that. In fact, Seamus says that we should always try to put girls into the five categories regardless of how we feel about her."

"That's…unusual for him," Tracey replied, knowing just how crude Seamus Finnigan could be.

"Yes, so the first would be pretty and that refers to girls who, with the right amount of makeup and in the right light together with a smile can look really good. They're not high on your go-to list for dates but you do consider them, especially when your options are lacking. The Patil twins come to mind."

"That's so…" Tracey started to retort but Ron raised his hand.

"The second is cute and this refers to girls who look pretty but more importantly, have such a bubbly personality that you just can't help but be affected by it. They're not the smartest in the bunch but they do make good dates and are interesting. Luna Lovegood belongs here." Ron said as Tracey groaned.

"I thought you were going to say Lavender."

"She's there too. But she's also in the category of hot though she's not particularly high in both categories."

"There's a degree of hotness and cuteness?" Tracey asked as Ron nodded.

"Yes, now on to the third which is nice. Nice refers to girls who are…well…nice. They have nice personalities and are very sweet and they are…nice…" Ron stammered as Tracey narrowed her eyes at him.

"So they're ugly?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't _not_ say that!"

"Moving on!" Ron said before Tracey could get another word in. "The fourth is hot and this is quite subjective. Hot means, according to Seamus, smoking hot. The girl has large tits and a great rear and is known mostly for her physical appearance. Like those witches I see on Witch Play…I mean…certain magazines." Ron said with a blush as Tracey rolled her eyes.

"You mean like Veelas and Fleur Delacour?" Tracey said as Ron nodded slightly before shaking his head.

"Don't get me wrong, Fleur is hot but unless she gets into a bikini twenty-four seven and has her perky bits sticking out, she's sort of a cross between pretty and hot. Now on to the last one…"

"You mean, finnneeeeee…" Tracey said sarcastically as she did her best impression of a love-struck, drooling face. Ron grimaced at the look before glaring at her.

"Yes, and it's not like that! Look, these are Seamus's words, not mine. Fine refers to the type of girl that every boy wants to have. Now to understand this, you really need to focus on just one thing. The face. Sure, she needs to have a slim figure and maybe even some perky bits but the real focus is all about the face. The first thing you notice about this girl is that she doesn't need makeup to look stunning. There's a sort of radiant beauty coming off from her as her hair cascades in a perfect fashion, doesn't matter if it's in a ponytail or any of the sort. She has the sort of eyes that just make your knees go weak as you stare at them while every part of her face from her nose to her chin is just flawless. Then comes her smile and Merlin, the smile is the best part. When she looks at your with that half-smile or pout that makes you just want to melt as you stare at her. You might think, hey, this girl would be good to wank to and sure, which guy wouldn't but she's more than that. You rather kiss her than make love to her, cuddle her than feel her up, hold her hand and let her lean on your shoulder while your fingers intertwined and every cell in your body is just pulsating with pure, unbridled happiness."

"Wow…" Tracey replied, looking impressed. "Seamus said all that?"

"He got most of it from a book," Ron replied as Tracey's impression deflated just as quickly as it came. "But I suppose he's right in a sense. Girls like Hermione and Daphne are in this category though they are different in a way. I mean, Hermione's more of the good girl type and Daphne is just that desirable bad girl but a grin from Hermione or a smouldering glare from Daphne would cause boys to react the same."

"If only you put this much thought into your studies and you do to girls, Ron."

"Why so interested in Hermione anyway?" Ron said, ignoring Tracey's jab. Tracey sighed before dismissing his query.

"It's not that. Just wondering why Draco would want to go after Hermione?"

That got Ron's attention. Ron stood up to his full height as Tracey felt slightly intimidated by the towering redhead. "Malfoy wants to go for Hermione?!" Ron yelled.

"Shut up!" Tracey barked as she looked around them. "Yeah, he wants to go for her."

"No, no, absolutely not!" Ron spat as he clenched his fists. "Hermione's not going to be one of Draco's conquests!"

"Please, I don't even know Granger that well and I know she'll never fall for that," Tracey replied, in an attempt to appease Ron. "The only way Draco is going to get her is with a genuine approach."

"Fat chance!" Ron cried. "Hermione is not going to fall for a disgusting, foul-mouthed ferret like him!"

"Oh, and I suppose you think so because you want a shot!" Tracey fired back, wondering why _that_ particular thought bothered her.

"No!" Ron replied hastily. "Hermione is going to end up with Harry."

"Harry Potter likes Hermione Granger?" Tracey sniggered as Ron glared at her. "Sorry, but…I just feel sorry for Harry."

"Why? He stands a better chance at getting her than Draco!" Ron retorted.

"You can't be serious," Tracey said as she shook her head.

"Try me," Ron replied as Tracey smirked at him.

…..

"Well, Draco and Hermione hate each other, don't they?" Tracey spoke as Ron nodded his head. Hermione and Draco had been at odds with each other since the first day they came to school. Things came to a head during their third year when the execution of Buckbeak led to Hermione slapping Draco in the face. Yet, for some reason, during the start of their fifth year, Draco had softened in his insults towards Hermione. Nevertheless, the bad blood between them was still lingered especially considering how Ron and Harry were constantly butting heads with Draco.

"Now, Ron, do you know the definition of love?" Tracey said as she started to explain. "Love, in the most general sense, is a strong feeling of affection. The key word in that sentence is strong. You see, in order to fall in love with someone, you need to have an intense connection with them."

"So?" Ron said as he raised his hands. "So what?"

"So, hatred is an intense feeling. So too is love. There's a thin line between the two because despite them being polar opposites, they are both intense and extreme. See without such feelings, you wouldn't have chemistry which is needed for attraction and by default, love. Now, let us go to Harry and Hermione."

"Harry and Hermione are best friends like you are with both of them. Hermione has spent almost her entire teenage life surrounded by you two. Now, going along those lines, it does show that Hermione cares for you. Unfortunately, the care she has for you is more on the lines of friendship, rather than love. Friendship borders on understanding and mutual respect, love requires something much more forceful. So despite how close the two may be, there wouldn't be any chance for chemistry because Hermione would just see Harry as just a friend, just a best friend, just your best friend forever but only just. Nothing extreme. Nothing forceful. No chemistry."

"That's just a load of dung, Tracey," Ron said as he shook his head. "Hermione cares a lot about Harry. Like during the Triwizard Tournament, she was dead worried for him."

"And yet, that didn't translate to anything. I don't recall Hermione showing up as Harry's date or anything. Tell me, Ron, if Hermione was interested in Harry, wouldn't she have said something or made a move until now?" Tracey replied.

"That's because Harry hasn't made his move yet." Ron retorted. "Look, you're right that Harry hasn't shown any interest but that's because he was concerned about ruining the friendship, not to mention that Hermione was attached during that time. Can't make a move yet."

"And you think that now if Harry were to declare his love for Hermione, that she will just leap into his arms? There's a reason why girls like bad boys like Draco, Ron." Tracey countered.

"Because they're hot?" Ron replied as Tracey shook her head.

"It's because they aren't afraid to be who they want to be. A bad boy doesn't care about changing himself to fit the girl, unlike best friends who tried to win a girl by being overly romantic and then coming off as clingy. " Tracey replied.

"But that's because you think someone like Draco would suddenly miraculously change who he is because of Hermione," Ron replied. "Look, I know about bad boys and trust me, the ones you see in Muggle movies or whatever my sister likes to call them, they don't exist. In fact, Draco is more likely to break Hermione's heart because he's not going to change. But not Harry. Harry cares for Hermione, and I really mean care. He's the best friend and they always get the girl."

"Only in Muggle movies." Tracey countered. "In real life, it's easier to fall for someone you hate than your own mate."

"Whatever," Ron replied. "Harry knows Hermione better, he's been there for her, he's been kinder to her than Draco, he's her best friend and takes care of her. My money is on Harry."

"Interesting," Tracey said as she stared at Ron. "So what you're saying is that this story can go both ways. We either have the classic hate-to-love story of the good girl falling for the bad boy, they start to hang out, they get closer, bad boy sheds his image and shows her his true self until finally letting go off who he is so that they can both end up together. OR…

"You have the other classic tale. Best friend waits in the shadow of the pretty girl who doesn't see him there. He tries to win her heart, fails, but eventually the guy the girl is with screws the hell up and she realises he was the right guy all the time, the best friend and they fall in love and end up happily ever after."

"My brain just hurt from all that." Ron sighed. "But yeah." All of a sudden, Tracey banged her fist on the stone ledge.

"That's it!" Tracey exclaimed out loud, causing Ron to take a step back. "We can use this for our essay!"

"What now?"

"Don't you see, Ron? Harry and Draco share similar traits, don't they? Both are the only child of their families, both are considered to be very good looking, both are the kings of their Houses, both can be very cocky and arrogant.."

"Harry's not cocky!" Ron interjected. "And he's nowhere as bad as Malfoy."

"Please," Tracey said as she raised her hand. "He's the son of James Potter and the godson of Sirius Black. Cockiness is in his blood."

"Well, he's not like Malfoy!"

"Fine!" Tracey remarked as she grabbed Ron by the shoulders. "I propose we use this little love triangle to our advantage. Both Harry and Draco have an equal chance of getting Hermione to fall for them. But you think that Draco is too much of a prat to change and I think that Harry would become clingy and desperate. So how about, we help them become the best versions of themselves?"

"I don't want to help Draco get together with Hermione," Ron replied as he shook his head.

"Ron, you won't be helping anyone get together with anyone. All I'm proposing is that we help our boys to get the girl but they will have to make all the moves. They will have to do it and when it comes down to it, Hermione herself will have to choose. We won't do anything to sway her in a particular direction. I will help Draco while you help Harry. And whoever Hermione choose, it will be her choice. As her best friend, surely you can respect that."

"I don't know…" Ron replied, looking uncertain. Tracey let out a grunt of frustration.

"Think about it this way. Draco is going to make his move no matter what and trust me, he knows how to manipulate a girl's feelings and no matter how smart Hermione is, she's still vulnerable. If I was watching him, I could stop that from happening and you can go kick his arse. But trust me, when Draco wants something, he doesn't stop."

"Neither does Harry." Ron sighed as he ran his fingers through his red hair. "I want to say yes but I don't want Harry or Hermione to get hurt."

"We're not doing anything to get in their way, Ron. Just helping the people we care about." Tracey sighed as she grabbed his hand. "So what do you say? Are you in? The bad boy takes on the best friend, if we do this, we can finally have a clear observation as to what love truly is."

Ron stared at Tracey for the longest time as he weighed everything she just said. _Harry and Draco are going to go for Hermione, no matter what_ Ron thought before nodding his head.

"Excellent!" Tracey replied as she gave him a hug. The sudden show of affection surprised Ron though it wasn't quite as unpleasant as he would imagine, being hugged by a Slytherin. As they pulled away from each other, Ron and Tracey turned their heads towards the night sky as they stood there, not saying a word while they soaked in the beautiful landscape surrounding the castle.

"Can't believe I'm actually going to work together on something like this, with a Slytherin no less." Ron laughed as he turned to face Tracey who had a smile on her face.

"Relax, Ron. Everything's going to be fine." Tracey said as she pulled out yet another cigarette while staring out into the night sky. "You met me a very strange time in my life."

…

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Ron said as he and Tracey walked out of the tower and into the corridor. Giving him a smile, Tracey's face faltered as she glanced at something behind him. Turning around, Ron gave a sigh of relief as the sight of his two best friends walking towards him.

"Just go," Ron said as he turned to face Tracey. "I'll cover for you."

"Nights, Weasley," Tracey replied as she headed towards the other end of the corridor as soon as Hermione and Harry reached him.

"Ron! You can't be out here. It's past curfew!" Hermione said, chiding him as she stared past him at the departing figure of Tracey Davis. "And what were you doing upstairs with Tracey Davis?"

"Just working on a project for Muggle Studies."

"A project?" Harry said as he gave Ron a smirk. "It's that what you call it?"

"It's not what you think," Ron said as Hermione narrowed her eyes at him before taking a step closer to smell his clothes.

"RON! Are you smoking again?"

"No, I just haven't showered," Ron said as he shrugged his shoulders while Hermione shook her head. "Fine, I'll promise I will stop but you got to give me time, Hermione."

"I just worry about you," Hermione said as Ron smiled at her. Harry cleared his throat.

"We should continue with our patrol." Harry said as Hermione nodded in agreement. "See you back at the dormitory, mate."

Ron could see that Harry was clearly signalling to him that he wanted more time alone with Hermione. Giving him a sly wink, Ron smiled. As he started to walk away from the pair, he could the two still talking about him.

"I'm just worried, Harry. What do you think Tracey wants with Ron?"

"Chill, Hermione. Whatever it is, Ron can handle himself."

"I know that. It's just…well…I'm worried about him, that's all."

"You're sweet, Hermione."

Ron sighed out loud as soon as the voices disappeared out of range. Though he agreed to work with Tracey on their experiment, there was still something that Tracey didn't know. In fact, it was something, not even his closest friends nor his family knew about him. A secret that, if anyone found out, could change everything.

Ron Weasley was already in love with Hermione Granger.

…..


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Anyone who knows me knows that I have a tendency to write between 8000 to 10000 words a chapter so writing between 3000 to 5000 words is quite difficult for me. Yet, I promised myself I will try it so here we are. And I'm keeping to the schedule of a chapter a day.**

 **Just want to point out two things. The first has to do with the pairings. Now I want everyone to know that this story can either go towards Dramione or Harmony but unlike some stories, I will be giving both boys an equal chance. As for Ron and Hermione, I think I can safely say here that this won't be Romione as I've kind of already written a Romione story. However, Ron's relationship with Hermione and Harry will be important in the upcoming chapters.**

 **Secondly, the first few chapters will have more of a focus on both Tracey and Ron as they are my protagonists but as we move forward, you will see more from the other three (Draco, Hermione, and Harry) as well as other supporting characters. There's so much more to each character, especially some of the Slytherins than meets the eye.**

 **As always, I appreciate the reads, favourites, follows and above all else, the reviews! Thank you so much and as always please do review if you can. Love you all: ]**

 **Disclaimer: It ain't mine. It's JK Rowling's.**

 **WHAT'S LOVE, GOT TO DO, GOT TO DO WITH IT?**

Chapter 3: The Curse

"Ron, could you please slow down?" Hermione cried in disgust as Ron gobbled down yet another bacon sandwich. Harry could only laugh as the redhead wizard glared at Hermione before reaching for another sandwich. "I'm hungry. Is that such a crime?"

Before Hermione could respond, however, the trio was approached by Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. Seamus had a wicked grin on his face as he sat across from Ron while Neville looked slightly embarrassed.

"What?" Ron said irritably as he noticed Seamus staring at him.

"Oh, nothing," Seamus said before exchanging a look with Dean. "It's just I heard someone tell me that apparently, you were spending some quality time with a Slytherin witch last night."

"Harry!" Ron said as he turned to his best mate who raised his hands in defence. "Wasn't me, mate."

"It was me." Neville sighed. "I overheard you talking to Harry this morning."

"Wait, what's this about Ron and some witch?" cried the voice of Lavender Brown as she sat with the group alongside Parvati Patil. "You're going out with someone already?"

"Who said anything about going out?" Ron half-yelled as some students along the table stared in their direction. "I just met her at the Astronomy Tower last night."

"What were you doing at the Astronomy Tower?" Parvati asked as Seamus snickered.

"Come on, Parvati. Think. The Astronomy Tower. An isolated spot where you can just lie there and bask underneath the stars. Sounds quite romantic. Why else would Ron pick such a place?" Seamus laughed as Ron threw a roll at him.

"Lay off him, Seamus," Harry said, coming to the defence of his friend. "You know why he was there."

"True but I thought he'll be there alone," Seamus said before turning back to Ron. "I didn't think he was going to up there, canoodling with Tracey Davis on his lap under your cloak!"

"Bloody hell! Neville!" Ron roared as Neville tried to duck under the table.

"What the hell was Tracey Davis doing on your lap?!" Lavender snapped as Ron could see that everyone was staring at him. Ron turned to Harry who nodded his head.

"She fell into his lap when they tried to hide from Professor Sinistra! Really guys, get your mind out of the gutter! Besides, Ron and Tracey are working on an assignment for Muggle Studies."

"You have an assignment for Muggle Studies?" Hermione asked, her attention piqued as Ron groaned.

"Yes, Tracey and I are working on something for Professor Burbage. She said that I get to be excused from class as the paper will count towards my NEWTs." Ron explained as Lavender narrowed her eyes.

"So why did she have to be in your lap for that?"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Lavender, let it go!"

"Ron!" Hermione cried as she glared at him. "Language. Five points from Gryffindor."

Everyone groaned out loud. "Oh, come on, Hermione. We're in your house." Parvati sighed.

"Then you should know better. I have to uphold the rules of the school." Hermione replied with a slight hint of haughtiness.

"Speaking of houses, I would give you a high-five, Ron," Seamus said as he turned his attention to the redhead once more. "If only it was Daphne Greengrass. Now that would have earned you two." Seamus exclaimed, much to the disgust of the witches in the table.

"I really don't see what's with all you prats fascination with Daphne Greengrass," Lavender muttered.

"Cos she's fine," Dean replied. "Tracey, she's more of a…nice?"

"She's not nice!" Ron retorted before realising what he just said. "I mean, she is nice in a way but wouldn't you categorise her as pretty?"

"Hmmmm, okay Weasley, for you," Seamus said as Harry, Dean, and Neville nodded. "She can be pretty."

"What are all of you talking about?" Hermione said as the boys exchanged looks. "Nothing!" Harry said as he glared at Seamus who started whistling.

"Well, I think it's great that you and Tracey are dating," Neville said sincerely to Ron.

Ron let out a sigh of exasperation. "We are not dating! It's just a project!"

"Besides," Seamus replied. "Ron can't date Tracey. It's against the rules."

"What rules?" Hermione asked as she looked curiously at Seamus. "I wasn't aware there were any rules involved."

"Not the ones you find in Hogwarts: A History, Hermione," Dean replied. "Seamus is talking about the unwritten rules. The ones that govern our social lives here in Hogwarts."

"Exactly. And the first rule is that Gryffindors don't date Slytherins." Seamus said as the girls gaped at him.

"What kind of nonsense is that?!" Hermione said indignantly. "Why can't they date?"

"Relax!" Seamus replied, alarmed at the outburst. " It's not something that's enforced, just how it is. Look, in the history of Hogwarts, there have been many inter-house relationships but has there ever been one between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin?"

"I'm sure some of them have dated some of us," Parvati replied as a few heads nodded.

"Yes, but nothing more than a fling. I'm talking about serious dating. Getting into a serious relationship." Seamus explained as he looked around the table before nodding towards the Slytherin table. "Do any of you know anyone who has been in one? I think not!"

The entire group stared at Seamus before turning their heads to face the Slytherins. Seamus had a point. In their entire seven years at Hogwarts, never had any of them heard about a Gryffindor and a Slytherin dating.

"I don't know when it started," Seamus spoke. "But I heard from some seniors that the last such relationship occurred over a century ago. Apparently, the relationship ended so badly that people believed a relationship between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin will only end up in tears. It's like its cursed or something."

"Really?" Hermione scoffed. "And pray tell, where are these sources?"

"Hermione, it's true," Dean replied. "Our two houses hate each other and though I personally don't believe in such a curse, you have to admit it's difficult to have a relationship with someone from Slytherin. Your friends will despise your partner and sooner or later, you'll just end it with them."

"So you're saying I can flirt with a Slytherin boy but not be in a relationship with him?" Parvati asked sceptically as Seamus nodded.

"I think it's a load of dung," Harry spoke as he shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, if you really care for someone, you shouldn't care where he or she comes from or what house they belong to. That doesn't define a person."

Hermione beamed at him as Seamus and Dean pretended to gag. Ron gave his best friend a smirk while Neville patted Ron on his back.

"If you want to date Tracey, I promise not to hate you," Neville said as Ron let out a groan.

"Oh for the last bloody time…"

"Language, Ron!" Hermione hissed as Lavender glared at Neville. "He said he doesn't want to date her so let it go. Won-won can date whoever he wants!"

The entire Gryffindor table groaned at the use of Ron's nickname as Lavender stared out at everyone. "What?!"

"Maybe there's another reason why Tracey wants to work with you," Seamus spoke, eager to change the subject. "I mean, Ron, no offence but Tracey could have worked with anyone in her group. Why choose you?"

"Because I can get good grades?" Ron said as he glared at Hermione who averted her gaze while Harry snickered before giving Ron an apologetic look.

"Please, Ron, this is serious," Seamus said as he stared at the Slytherin table. "What if…it's because of Quidditch?"

"Quidditch?!" Hermione cried incredulously.

"That's it!" Dean said as he smacked the table. "Ron, you're the vice-captain of the team. They know that you're single now and so they sent Tracey to try to get our tactics from you."

"Ron, you can't date Tracey…OWW…I was kidding!" Harry cried as Ron elbowed him in the stomach.

"I knew she was up to something," Lavender whispered to Parvati while Neville looked sceptical.

"I don't know. Wouldn't they send Daphne Greengrass?"

"Please, like Ron could get the Ice Queen herself." Lavender retorted as Ron glared at her.

"You think I can't get Daphne?" Ron said in an accusing tone before Seamus intervened.

"Mate, you know I love you but we have to be realistic. Daphne is out of all our leagues. Tracey's much more obtainable." Seamus argued as Hermione scowled at him.

"That is just so typical of you, Seamus! As if girls are like some objects to be obtained. Whatever Tracey's reasons are for wanting to work with Ron, it most definitely doesn't involve Quidditch. There's more to life than just Quidditch, you know."

"Thank you!" Ron said as he glared at Seamus who refused to back down.

"Then explain to me why one of the top students in our school wants to work with Ron, of all people, on a project? It's suspicious, I tell you!"

"But haven't we already beaten them in Quidditch for the past two years? At this rate, even if we lose this one, we still win overall." Parvati said as all five boys gasped in horror.

"Parvati, everyone knows that the last Quidditch cup you win before you graduate is the most important of them all!" Dean cried. "You really think Malfoy will care that we won more cups? He'll just gloat over this final victory for years to come."

"It's just a cup." Hermione sighed as the group burst into chatter.

"Just a cup? Are you insane?!"

"Quidditch just divides houses."

"Hermione, you know I respect your opinion but I have to agree with…"

"Ron, if you want to go for Tracey, I won't hold it against you."

"Won-Won! You're not really into Tracey, right?"

"Are you all talking about Nargles?"

"Luna! Where did you come from?"

"Enough!" Ron roared as the group became silent. Ron stood up, his eyes glaring at each and every one of his friends. "Look, what Tracey and I do is none of anyone's business. We're just partners working on a project for Burbage! We're not dating or anything. She just wants to work with me because she thinks that I can contribute to the project in a way that none of you can. Can't you all just believe, for once, that it's because she needs my help in her studies and not because she's in love with me nor is she spying to know about our tactics?!"

Everyone stared at Ron in silence as he sat down, grumbling while picking another bacon sandwich. Ron could see everyone exchanging looks while nodding to each other in silence before Seamus spoke up.

"So we all agree. It's definitely Quidditch."

Ron sighed loudly as he collapsed back to his seat.

….

"Did you guys see that?" Crabbe said as he pointed towards the Gryffindor table. "They're looking at us again"

"Maybe they're just checking Daphne out. Like those Hufflepuff boys over there!" Blaise cried out loud as he pointed to three fifth-year Hufflepuff wizards who turned red the moment the group stared at them. Daphne rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Or maybe, it's because they heard that one of us here was with a Weasley in the Astronomy Tower last night," Pansy said as she sneered at Tracey who glared at her.

"You were with Weasley last night?" Draco spat in disgust.

"Tracey, I didn't know you had a thing for redheads." Daphne sniggered as Tracey flipped her best friend off.

"Yeah, I was with him. So what?" Tracey replied as she went back to her breakfast. "I need him for something."

"His wand perhaps?" Blaise chuckled. "Maybe even take a ride on it?"

Tracey nearly choked on her food as Daphne and Pansy started to giggle while Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle made faces. "What the hell? Wait, how did you even know I was with Weasley?" Tracey asked as she rounded up on Pansy.

"Hello? Have you forgotten about the map?" Pansy said as she lifted a piece of parchment from her robes. Tracey groaned out loud. Back during their fifth year, when Professor Umbridge reigned supreme, there was talk about Potter and his gang having some sort of secret Defence Against the Dark Arts classes and rumours were circulating that Harry Potter had a map that allowed him to see where everyone would be in Hogwarts. As a response, Pansy and Draco pleaded to Umbridge to help them create a similar map and with the help of some talented Ministry officials, they created the Inquisitorial Map, similar to the one Potter was rumoured to help.

"Stop spying on me, Pansy." Tracey snapped as she glared at Pansy who smirked at her.

"So why were you with Weasley?" Draco asked as all eyes turned towards her. Tracey considered telling them to mind their own business but the problem with Slytherins is that the more you tell them to get lost, the more they want to butt in.

"He's helping me with my Muggle studies project." Tracey sighed as Draco gave her an incredulous look.

"You could have asked for either me or Pansy to help you."

"Well then, I would be sparing both of you from each other's company." Tracey sneered as Pansy went back to staring lovingly at Draco who avoided looking at her.

"Just don't forget about the curse." Goyle said as Daphne glared at him.

"There's no such curse, you buffon!"

"Kind of is," Crabbe said, coming to the defence of his friend. "There's never been a successful relationship between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin."

"Why would anyone want to be with one of those Muggle-loving fools, eh Draco?" Pansy said as she nudged the blonde wizard who was staring at the Gryffindor table. "Huh, yes. Of course."

"Better not be renegading on our bet, Malfoy." Blaise chuckled as Draco glared at him. "Remember you have to win her heart. I don't care if you break it afterward. You could shag her too if you want."

"Why would Draco want to shag that filthy Mudblood…" Pansy said before Draco slammed his fist on the table, shocking everyone.

"Don't call her that!"

"I was just…" Pansy stammered as Draco glared daggers at her. Blaise, however, was the first to recover. "What the hell, mate? You're the one who loves calling them that but for some reason, two years ago, you decided to stop? Don't think we haven't noticed it."

"Yeah, Draco, what's that about?" Crabbe said as Goyle nodded. Draco, however, said nothing, his face a mask of indifference as he shrugged his shoulders. Deep inside his head, however, he could hear his mother's voice.

 _Draco, there's something you need to know._

"Look, I just think the term is overrated. Go and call her that all you want. It's just stupid if you ask me. Mud-blood? Like dirty blood? We're in the twenty-first century and we can't come up with something better than those Death Eaters? Please." Draco drawled as he grabbed another sandwich. He could see that Blaise didn't buy into it though Pansy seemed to be satisfied with his answer. Crabbe and Goyle said nothing, their loyalty remained intact while Daphne just couldn't be bothered. Strangely, it was Tracey who came to his rescue.

"I think Draco is just practising how to win Granger over. Can't very well win the bet if he attacks her with personal insults, can he, Zabini?" Tracey replied as Blaise flinched at the use of his last name. Turning his attention now towards Tracey, the latter braced herself for the imminent attack.

"You seem to know a lot about pursuing Gryffindors, Tracey. What's the matter, fallen in love with Weasley, have you?"

"Go to hell, Blaise." Tracey snapped as she glared at him. "What I do with Ron is none of your business."

The moment she said it, she knew she had made a mistake. The use of the Gryffindor's first name, never mind that he was the sworn enemy of Draco Malfoy, was a fatal error on her part. Pansy stared at her in disgust while Draco flinched at the use. Both Crabbe and Goyle gaped at her like the idiots that they were. It was Daphne's reaction that surprised her the most, her face frowning towards her not out of anger but rather of pity though to her credit, Daphne kept her mouth shut.

"On a first name basis now, I see," Blaise said as he grinned at her. "Better hope Weasley's a better guy than – "

"Shut the fuck up, Blaise!" Daphne yelled as she glowered at him. Even though Tracey knew Blaise wasn't one to back down, he knew better than to piss Daphne off. As Daphne glared at Blaise as well as the others, even causing Goyle and Crabbe to shrink a little, Tracey knew why everyone called her the Ice Queen.

"Someone talk about something else." Daphne cried as the rest of them exchanged looks. To everyone's surprise, it was Goyle who chose to speak.

"Isn't Weasley the vice-captain of the team?" Goyle said as he stared back at the group.

"So what?" Pansy asked.

"So wouldn't he know about their tactics?" Goyle said as Draco's eyes widened at about the same time as Tracey narrowed hers. She shook her head in disgust.

"Unlike some of you, I have an Outstanding grade to achieve. So excuse me while I head over to Ron (Tracey looked at Blaise who raised his hands in surrender) and we will go work on our project. See you all later." Tracey said as she took off towards the Gryffindor table. Mid-way from reaching the table, Tracey felt a soft hand grab her arm.

"Trace, you okay?" Daphne whispered as Tracey turned to face her.

"Yeah, thanks for what you did just now." Tracey sighed as Daphne gave her a smile. Smiles from Daphne Greengrass were a rarity although being her best friend did have some benefits.

"Look, I don't know what you have with Weasley but just be careful, okay?" Daphne said, looking concerned. "I just don't want it to be like the last time."

"Don't worry," Tracey replied as she put up a brave face. As Daphne retreated back to her seat, Tracey sighed as her mind turned back to the past, pulling a memory that had haunted her for so long.

 _We can't be together, Tracey. I'm so sorry._

…..

"Hey, Ron?" Dean said as he looked up from the table. "I think your working partner is coming over."

Everyone turned to see Tracey Davis striding up towards them. Ron could see Lavender glaring daggers while Hermione and Harry looked at Tracey, both with suspicious expressions on their faces.

"Ron, I'll see you later after lunch? Meet me in the library." Tracey said as Ron nodded, not wanting to say anything more.

"Hey, Davis," Seamus called out. "Will Greengrass be there?" he chuckled as Dean shook his head.

"Yes, she will," Tracey said as she smiled at him. "You know, Finnigan, you really are her type. Strong, outgoing, full of personality. Daphne could really use a guy like you."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Tracey sighed as she shrugged her shoulders. "If only you had a little more than that one-inch wand in your pants, you'll be perfect for her."

"You don't know what's in my pants," Seamus muttered as the boys together with Hermione and Parvati burst out in laughter. Lavender, on the other hand, glared at Tracey as she tried to move closer to Ron. Tracey rolled her eyes at her before looking at Ron.

"Guess, I'll see you later. Don't be late. And for the love of Merlin, Ron, stop stuffing your face." Tracey said as she walked off. Ron grunted as he reached to pick up another sandwich only to pull his hand back.

"What?" Ron said as Hermione stared at him. "I'm full."

…

"I'm really worried about Ron, Harry." Hermione sighed as she and Harry headed out into the first-floor corridor after accompanying Ron to the library. "You think Tracey will take advantage of him?"

"Ron's going to be fine, Hermione," Harry said as he gave her a smile. "This is Ron we're talking about. He can handle himself. If anything, I'll be more worried for Tracey. Ron's bound to drive her nuts."

"But you remember how he and Lavender broke up?" Hermione sighed as Harry admired the way her ponytail cascaded down her neck. Hermione had straightened her brown hair ever since their fifth year and Harry had to admit, it made her look more beautiful than ever before. "He didn't really deal with it. Just waited for Lavender to end it with him. What if he's hurting?"

"Trust me. He's not hurting." Harry replied as they continued to walk. "If anyone should be hurting, it should be you. You sure you're okay with Krum being attached to that new witch of his?"

"More than okay," Hermione said as she smiled at him. "I wasn't the right girl for him," Hermione said as she thought back to the summer.

" _Hermy-own-ninny, thank you for visiting me," Krum said as he gave her a hug. They were seated inside a Muggle café in Hampstead Village. The place was secluded enough for them to meet and Hermione knew that most of the magical community tended to avoid Muggle places._

" _It's fine, Viktor. What did you want to tell me?"_

" _I want to break up with you," Viktor said as Hermione looked surprised. "There's this girl from my village, Elena Dragan. She and I grew up together and although we were apart, I never forgot her or how I feel about her. Elena says that she wants to date me but she can't date someone who is attached. I need to break with you, Hermy-own-ninny."_

 _Hermione stared blankly at Viktor before smiling and nodding her head. "Of course. That's wonderful, Viktor! I'm so happy for you."_

" _Thank you," Viktor said as he beamed at her. "I'm sorry we couldn't continue this..what do you call it...charade?"_

" _Yes," Hermione said as she smiled at him. The Yule Ball had made them friends and while neither of them had any romantic inclinations towards each other after Krum had kissed her at the ball, they continued to remain good friends. It was only in her fifth year, Hermione recalled, that she noticed many boys were staring at her and coming up to flirt with her. Though that didn't bother her as much, it was only when Hermione noticed how her close friends, particularly two wizards whom she considered as brothers, were acting towards her that she became worried._

" _Viktor, I need your help." Hermione recalled herself saying. "Can we please pretend to be dating so that no one will bother me? I know it's a lot to ask –"_

" _It's okay, Hermy-own-ninny." Viktor had said when they met up back then. "I too am being bogged down by marriage proposals from female fans. Maybe a relationship, even a fake one, is what I need to get them off my back."_

" _So you're okay with it?" Hermione said as Viktor nodded. "We pretend to date?"_

" _Of course," Viktor said as he nodded his head. "Unless of course, one of us falls in love with someone."_

 _That had been the agreement and for years, Hermione enjoyed the benefits of having a fake long-term relationship. It kept most of the boys off her back and Hermione was happy to be able to concentrate on other priorities instead. Yet seeing just how happy Viktor Krum was, Hermione couldn't help but smile at her Bulgarian friend._

" _I'm really happy for you, Viktor," Hermione said as she beamed at the Quidditch superstar. Though she was really happy for him, a part of her felt a little jealous that Viktor had managed to find someone he truly loved before she did. She had been distracted by other things though, Hermione reminded herself as she listened to Viktor gush about Elena._

" _I'm together with my best friend." Viktor sighed while never dropping his smile. "I hope that one day, you will find someone who loves you, Hermy-own-ninny, like me and Elena. Who knows? Maybe you might even fall for Harry or Ron."_

 _Hermione gave a laugh before shaking her head. "Maybe. But what if something goes wrong and I lose one of them? I can't see myself not being friends with either one of them."_

" _That is possible," Viktor said as he smiled at Hermione. "But sometimes, it's worth the risk. Sometimes, the people who we are supposed to be with are the ones who were right there all along."_

"Hermione?" Harry said as Hermione shook herself out from her thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Hermione said as she smiled at Harry. She never noticed it before but there was something quite unique about Harry's eyes as she stared into those deep pools of emerald green. It was only when she realised that Harry was staring at her blankly did she shake herself out of her thoughts.

"So, you sure Ron's going to be okay?"

"Trust me, Hermione," Harry said as they entered the classroom. "Tracey isn't Ron's type." As Professor Burbage started her lesson on Muggle Studies, Harry took a moment to stare at Hermione. He loved the way she looked, her eyes focused on the teacher while she bit her lips and copied down notes. As Harry continued to gaze at Hermione, his thoughts turned to a year ago when he first confessed his feelings to Ron.

…

 _Sixth year_

" _Where's Hermione?" Harry asked as he and Ron left the Quidditch locker room._

" _Probably writing a letter to Krum," Ron replied as he rolled his eyes. "Still can't believe they're dating. It's not like he's her type or anything."_

" _How would you know?" Harry asked as Ron shrugged his shoulders._

" _I just do. Krum's just a peacock and he's all about Quidditch, mate. Trust me, they won't last."_

" _You think so?" Harry asked, praying that he didn't sound too hopeful._

" _Trust me. They'll break it off before we graduate." Ron said as the pair entered the Great Hall. Harry could see Lavender smiling at the corner as she waved at Ron._

" _Looks like Lavender has a thing for you," Harry said as Ron sighed._

" _You know, normally I would be into it, mate. Just that, she's not my type."_

" _Oh, what's your type then?"_

" _I'm not telling you."_

" _Ron, come on."_

" _Fine, I'll tell you but only if you tell me yours first," Ron said as he nudged Harry._

" _Fine!" Harry said as he looked around them to see if anyone was eavesdropping. "There's this girl that I like but it didn't start that way. It's just that we've been spending a lot of time together and like a year ago, I start to notice things about her. Like the way she smiles. The way she laughs. Even the way she scolds me. And when I notice her, I get this powerful feeling inside me, like something rising in my chest and I feel this sense of wonder and joy and all I want to do is tell her how good she makes me feel."_

" _Bloody hell, mate, I think you got it bad for her."_

" _There's only one problem," Harry said as Ron looked at him curiously. "She has a boyfriend overseas."_

" _A boyfriend overseas? But the only person I know that has one is…oh…OH!" Ron cried as his eyes widened with realisation. "You like Hermione?!"_

" _Shhhhh," Harry said as he checked around before turning to smile at Ron. "Yes."_

 _Harry could see Ron trying to process the information, his face tightened to a frown as he looked deep in thought._

" _Ron? Mate? You're okay?"_

" _What…yeah, yeah…I'm okay. I'm good." Ron said as sincerely as he could though Harry remained unconvinced. Ron stared at him for the longest time before giving a resigned sigh._

" _I'm happy for you, mate," Ron replied as a familiar voice called out to them. Both boys turned to see Hermione walking towards them, with a big smile on her face._

" _You really like her, huh?" Ron whispered as Harry stared at the brown-haired witch walking towards them. He could feel butterflies fluttering in his chest as Hermione approached, her hair in a neat ponytail as she smiled at him with the cutest pair of lips he had ever seen. He could hear his heart thumping in his chest as with each step she took towards him, Harry felt a mixture of nervousness and bliss all rolled into one._

 _For most of his life, Harry felt fortunate for many things. From having two loving parents and the two best friends anyone could ask for, Harry's life had been quite the rollercoaster ride. He had endured a Death Eater attack on his life together with other issues like Professor Umbridge coming in to teach and yet, he had managed to endure all that and come out the better for it. Like Albus Dumbledore once said to him, the best way to live your life is not by measuring the number of breaths you take each moment but by the moments that take your breath away. Like the time Harry first became a Seeker. Or the first time he caught the Snitch. Or the time his house won both the Quidditch and House Cup. Winning challenges in the Triwizard Tournament. Or being made House Captain and Prefect. All those moments brought such joy to Harry that he could not think of a better way to describe his life other than perfect._

 _Or almost perfect._

" _Yes, Ron. I do." Harry whispered as he felt all of his breath escaping from his lungs._

…..


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: FORGIVE ME FOR POSTING LATE! IT'S JUST THAT IT'S CHRISTMAS! And I've been busy Christmas shopping! Yeah, I know. I'm that kind of guy, haha. Anyways, here is the next chapter. Hope you guys like it.**

 **Just to clarify a bit, for those wondering how this timeline being AU works is that Voldemort did exist in this world but Dumbledore defeated him. How and why will be explained in later chapters. However, things that occurred without Voldemort's intervention, like Lucius giving Ginny the diary, Buckbeak's execution still occurs including one more thing that will be explained in the upcoming chapters. However, I won't go into too much detail there as it diverts away from the plot of the story.**

 **Some of the characters are OOC because of this and because of backstories that I've created for them. I never had a problem with reading AU stories with OOC characterisations but some writers do have Draco being a Muggle-loving hero without putting any proper context which makes it difficult for me to get into it. (Unless of course, it's like a one-shot fluff piece or something along those lines.)**

 **As always, I appreciate the reads, favourites, follows and above all else, the reviews! Thank you so much and as always please do review if you can. Love you all: ]**

 **AND, OF COURSE, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**

 **Disclaimer: It ain't mine. It's JK Rowling's.**

 **WHAT'S LOVE, GOT TO DO, GOT TO DO WITH IT?**

Chapter 4: The transition from friends and enemies to something more

"What?" Tracey asked as she noticed Ron staring at her while fidgeting in his seat. Ron said nothing as he continued to drum his fingers on the library table. "Ron, for the love of Merlin, relax! You look as fidgety as a snitch that's just been caught."

"I don't know nothing about no Snitches! Especially Golden ones!" Ron replied loudly, earning a glare from Madam Pince who looked up from her book. Tracey gave her an apologetic look before turning to Ron.

"Honestly, Weasley, what is your problem?!" Tracey hissed.

"Look, okay. I agreed to work with you on this project but that's it. I'm not disclosing any other information." Ron stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Okay…" Tracey said, looking slightly bemused before shaking her head. "Anyways let's get back to the task at hand. So, for our essay, we intend to see how exactly love works, specifically when it comes to teenagers like us. Now, I have to ask, is Harry making any moves towards Hermione?"

"Not yet, I think," Ron said. "He's been spending more time with her but that's about it."

"Okay, good. Draco's not making any moves either."

"Well, that's good." Ron sulked as he crossed his arms. "He shouldn't be making any."

"Ron…"

"Bloody hell, Tracey!" Ron whispered loudly as he raised his hands in the air. "Can you imagine if that ferret dated Hermione? He'll probably abuse her in some way."

"And you don't think that Hermione can't defend herself? Like she some helpless girl in need of a knight in shining armour. This is Hermione Granger, we're talking about or have you forgotten how many people she's hexed and jinxed over the years?"

"Still, I don't like it," Ron said adamantly, not willing to back down. "Even if the unthinkable happens and she and Draco date, I won't be friends with Draco!"

"Shit, you're right," Tracey said as she frowned at the thought. "There's no way Draco can get Hermione if he isn't at least amicable with her best friends."

"Amicable?" Ron said incredulously as Tracey grabbed his hand. "Oei! What do you think you're doing?" Ron whispered as Tracey dragged him to the bookshelves at the end of the library. Several of the students gave Tracey and Ron strange looks as some started to whisper excitedly amongst themselves.

"There," Tracey said, speaking louder this time. "Now, we can discuss in peace."

"It's awfully dark in here," Ron said as he found himself and Tracey being squashed between two bookshelves. "Tracey, do you know what they call this place?"

"The library?"

"Nooo, the make-out spot," Ron said, knowing full well that this particular section of the library was where many students went to make out in secret. Almost as instantly as he said it, their privacy was invaded by a couple of students entering their isolated spot. The girl, who looked like a fifth-year Hufflepuff student widened her eyes in shock while the boy, a sixth-year Ravenclaw gave Ron an admiring look.

"What?" Tracey said as she scowled at the pair who immediately turned tail and ran. Ron could see a slight blush on her cheeks as she turned to face him.

"Anyways," Tracey spoke hastily as if the last few moments between them had not existed. "We need to formulate a plan to help Draco and Harry get over the obstacles."

"What obstacles?" Ron asked.

"Look, both Draco and Harry are quite good looking so that takes care of any concerns about physical attraction. But what they both lack in is in their behaviour and personality. Draco, for example, is arrogant and tends to think he's Merlin's gift to women whereas Harry has the ability to become that clingy best friend you just want to get rid of without hurting his feelings."

"Okay…" Ron said, not quite following what Tracey was saying.

"Let's look at our boys. If Draco wants to be with Hermione, he needs to show some vulnerability. The problem with Draco is that he thinks he's Merlin's gift to women and so he acts with his arrogant persona that he's better than anybody. If he wants her, Draco will have to break down his walls and show her who he really is. A fragile and lonely person with a heart."

Ron gave a derisive laugh. "A Malfoy who has a heart?! Please, pull the other one."

"What's your problem? You think us Slytherins don't have a heart?" Tracey snapped.

"I didn't say Slytherins! I said Malfoy." Ron retorted. "You can't convince me that Draco has a heart of gold underneath all that swagger. He's just an arrogant prick."

"I didn't say heart of gold. I said, heart. Look," Tracey sighed as she grabbed his hand. Her soft touch sent slight goosebumps up his arm. "Anyone who thinks Malfoy is some secret and kind good guy really doesn't know Draco like I do and believe me when you spent seven years with the guy, you pick up on some things. Draco is prejudiced, he's bigoted and yes, he is a total arsehole of which I'm not going to make any excuses for. What I can tell you is that that's not all Draco is. There's more to him than meets the eyes. He's in pain, even if he doesn't want to admit it and he's lonely because trust me, those people you see around him aren't really his friends, more like acquaintances or in the case of Crabbe and Goyle, his minions."

Ron said nothing as Tracey sighed.

"If there's one word I would describe Draco is that he's fragile, much more than he cares to admit. He masks all this by being a prat and who can blame him? Being raised in a pureblood family will do that to you. I'm not saying you shouldn't give him a hard time for it because frankly, he deserves it. I'm just saying you shouldn't judge him completely for who he is but rather have faith as to the man he could become. Draco's insecure and he needs to show that to Hermione. Only then will she start to change her view about him."

"You seem to know a lot about Malfoy," Ron said as Tracey shrugged her shoulders.

"I know what's it like to mask your pain. You think Daphne is sarcastic and rude because she wants to be. No, she's hiding something just like how all of us are. I don't blame you, Ron, for thinking that all of us Slytherins are bad. It's how you were taught to believe and with most of us becoming Death Eaters and even having a Pureblood supremacist as our House founder, it's hard to see us as people."

Ron said nothing as he stared at Tracey. For years, Ron had hated Slytherins. Like Tracey said, it was how he was brought to believe and the day he met Draco Malfoy was the day he knew that all his assumptions about them and the stories were true. Yet, Ron could feel something tugging at his heart as he stared into Tracey's eyes. At first, it seemed that her eyes were the shade of a murky brown and yet as Ron drew closer, he could see that they were instead a light shade of hazel, similar to the colour of his Chocolate Frogs. Noticing Tracey giving him a strange look as she propped herself next to him, Ron decided to break the tension.

"What about Harry, then? What can we do for him?"

"Huh?" Tracey said, having been caught up in Ron's blue eyes. There was something mesmerizing about the way Ronald Weasley was gazing at her and Tracey couldn't help but notice just how heated her skin felt.

"Harry, what can we do for him?" Ron repeated himself.

"Oh right! Harry!" Tracey said as she averted her gaze. She could feel her heart beating slightly louder than it usually did as she took a couple of breaths to compose herself. "Well, in Harry's case, he too needs to show Hermione who he really is but, of course, Harry needs to go about it differently from Draco. While Draco has to work at being friends with Hermione before trying to go for her, Harry needs to go in the opposite direction. The problem with Harry is the same one faced by so many people out there. How do you transition from being friends to something more?"

"Easy. All Harry has to do is give her some flowers and ask her out. Not so difficult, isn't it?"

Tracey shook her head at Ron. "You're thinking in terms of friends. General friends. Even acquaintances. Asking Hermione out isn't like asking her to be his date for the Yule Ball. Let me ask you something, Ron. Has Hermione ever shown any interest in Harry?"

"What do you mean?"

"Has she ever told Harry he looks good more so than necessary? Has she ever touched him more than necessary, like a hug that lingers longer than the ones she gives you? Has she ever asked to spend some alone time with him? Has Hermione even gotten jealous, even at the slightest sense, at other girls who come and flirt with Harry?"

"Merlin, how the hell am I supposed to know these things?" Ron sighed exasperatedly. "Girls are so complicated!"

"You're right. We should all act like drooling idiots like the boys who do around Daphne because as I quote your words, she _fineeeee_. Or just throw ourselves at you like how Lavender Brown does." Tracey snapped, unsure of why her last statement bothered her as much as it did.

"Ok fine!" Ron exclaimed in surrender. "I don't think Hermione has shown any interest in Harry. But maybe it's because she just hasn't noticed Harry in that way yet."

"Precisely, Ronald," Tracey said. "Look, I know those Muggle romance novels and movies, not to mention even wizarding ones, have indoctrinated you into thinking that if you have a female best friend and you like her, all you have to do is keep doing romantic stuff until she notices you. I can tell you, with absolute certainty, that _that_ is not true! In fact, because Harry and Hermione are best friends, if Harry were to suddenly, out of the blue, ask her out while giving her flowers, I can tell you that Hermione would either reject him because she's afraid of losing the friendship or in most cases, accept it for precisely that reason. Whatever it is, Hermione will do it out of pity until the guilt hits her and she tries to stay away from Harry, leading to an awkward phase that ruins friendships or what you boys call friendzoning."

"That seems like quite a sexist statement," Ron muttered.

"You're right," Tracey said as she gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Ron said, grinning at her. Tracey felt her heat being louder. _He has a gorgeous smil…FOCUS, TRACEY!_

"The point I'm trying to make Ron is that in Harry's case, he needs to get Hermione attracted to him first before asking her out."

"I get your point. It's just I was always thought that if you liked a girl, you just tell her and see how it goes." Ron said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Only if you're just friends. Or even strangers who know each other a little. Not when you're best friends. You can't be too forward when you're best friends. See, if you're just friends and things don't work out, you can both either go back to being friends if that's possible or just avoid each other while hanging in your respective cliques." Tracey said as she smiled at him.

"So if like it's okay to ask a girl out when you're just friends, like if let's say I was to ask…I don't know… you out, that would be okay?"

Alarm bells started to ring in her head as Tracey gaped at Ron. Ron stared at Tracey in horror as he realised the meaning behind his words.

"No…I mean, not that I wouldn't ask you….because…I mean…as an example!" Ron stammered frantically as he tried to take control of the situation.

"RIGHT…haha…yes, of course, I know what you mean…" Tracey exclaimed rather loudly as her nerves started to jangle about. "But yes, I think you get what I mean."

"Yeah, of course!"

"Brilliant!"

"Wonderful!"

"Good!"

The tension between the pair was so thick that Ron felt he could cut it with a knife. Ron took a moment to stare at Tracey. Tracey was a brunette whose short hair fell on all sides of her neck although it was neatly fashioned with a red hairband on the top. Her hazel eyes glittered from the candlelight that hung around the sides of the bookshelves. Realising that they had not spoken in quite a while, Ron cleared his throat.

"So, what do you suggest we do about Harry and Malfoy?"

Tracey, who had been staring at Ron for several moments composed herself as she brushed her fingers on her hair. "Well, for Draco, I will talk to him and try to get him to show some vulnerability towards Hermione in order to get her to change her mind about the way she sees him. As for you, you need to help Harry take a step back from spending so much time with Hermione. Get him to show more of himself to her and not just act as some sort of emotional punching bag. I'll give you more details later but right now, we have to go to class."

"Sure," Ron said as he stood up, straightening his robes in the process. Tracey watched as Ron extended one of his large hands to her. Grabbing it tightly as he helped her up to her feet, Tracey couldn't help but notice how her hand fitted perfectly in his. Not trusting her emotions any further, Tracey thanked Ron before proceeding to walk out of the library with him. As soon as they were outside, the pair turned to face each other. Before either one could utter a word, they both heard their names being called.

"Ron!" Harry cried as he and Hermione approached him.

"Tracey!" Pansy yelled as Tracey turned to see her and Daphne waving her over. Neither said nothing other than giving the other a cursive nod as they both turned to walk away in different directions back to the groups that they belonged.

….

"So, Ron," Seamus said as the five Gryffindor boys trudged out of the muddy Quidditch pitch towards the castle. "According to the grapevine, you and Tracey were at the infamous make-out spot."

"You didn't say anything about Quidditch, did you?" Dean asked as Ron glared at him.

"No, I didn't! Not that there's anything much to say other than the try-outs were utter shit."

"Hey!" Harry remarked crossly before sighing. "Fine. We really do need a replacement Seeker and Keeper."

"Why don't you just leave that to the captain for next year's team?" Neville asked as Harry shook his head.

"I don't want to put all that on Ginny or Peakes or Coote. You realised that we still need to find a chaser for our team now that Katie Bell has graduated."

"Guys, I think we're digressing here," Seamus said as everyone turned to face him. "So, Ron, how's it like making out with a Slytherin?"

"Fuck off, Seamus," Ron growled as he tucked his broomstick under his arm. "She and I are just workmates, nothing more."

"Well, Lavender seems to think otherwise, mate," Neville said as he clapped Ron on his back. "I heard that she wants to get back together with you."

"What?!" Ron and Harry cried in unison as Seamus snorted out loud.

"Of course she wants to get back together with you." Seamus sighed as Dean sniggered. "I tried to put my moves on her but it didn't work because of you, mate! There's nothing more irresistible to a girl than a boy she can't have, particularly if that boy is her ex and happens to be chasing after someone she hates."

"Trust me, mate." Ron sighed as they reached the entrance to the castle. "I ain't getting back together with her. You can have another go if you like."

"Unfortunately, I can't," Seamus said as he turned to face Ron. "She's still obsessed over you mate. I ain't ever going to win her heart."

"Who said anything about the heart? I thought you just wanted her body." Harry snickered as the boys laughed while Seamus pretended to look hurt. "You wound me, Potter," Seamus remarked, in a mock-hurt fashion.

The mention of hearts reminded Ron of the task he had to do. As soon as the boys reached their dormitory, Ron turned to face Harry.

"So, Harry, how are you progressing with Hermione?" Ron asked as Harry looked momentarily stunned by the question.

"It's coming along," Harry said as Ron's question attracted the rest of the boys.

"Really, mate? You're not planning on like giving her a bunch of flowers and asking her out, are you?" Ron said as Harry blushed hard.

"No!" Harry snapped as he shook his head before looking nervously at Ron. "Would that be so bad?"

"It would, actually," Ron said as he nodded his head. "Hermione might be turned off by it."

"Why would Hermione be turned off by Harry expressing his feelings?" Neville asked as all four pair of eyes stared at Ron. Ron gulped as he twiddled his fingers.

"Well…" Ron said before resigning to telling the truth. " Tracey and I are working on this essay about love for Muggle studies," Ron said as Seamus and Dean snickered. "She thinks that it's a bad idea to for best friends to suddenly reveal their feelings because you don't know what the other person thinks and it could backfire badly. Not to mention, mate, you might become clingy."

"I reckon Tracey does have a point," Seamus replied as he gave Ron an amused look. "You have gotten rather clingy around Hermione, Harry."

"I do not!" Harry snapped defensively.

"Oh come on, mate," Dean replied. "You've been spending an awful lot of time with her and looked what you become. Always agreeing with her and asking her how she is. Always wanting to talk about her rather than yourself."

"That's true!" Seamus remarked. "Harry, how do you expect Hermione to fall for you when you won't even show her who you really are."

"It's like you want to be an image of yourself that's not really you but what you think she likes about you," Neville said as all eyes turned towards him. "What?! I can be deep once in a while."

"Anyways," Ron said, ignoring Neville. "The point is, mate, is that you can't spend too much time with her like you're some kind of Hermione Granger's lapdog. You have to get her to see you in a different light."

"But how do you propose I do that, Ron?" Harry said as he folded his arms. "You know how the guys around the school are like? The minute I stop being close to her, one of those vultures are sure to swoop in and steal her heart."

"But you're not doing yourself any favours by just listening and being there for her all the time, mate." Ron sighed. "According to Tracey, if you were to just ask Hermione out, she would more than likely feel awkward at having her best friend come on to her."

"He's right," Seamus said as he nodded along. "Best friends don't necessarily translate to boyfriend and girlfriend. Most of the time, one of the partners get awkward and try to pull away from the other."

"So what you're saying is that I have to spend less time with Hermione and not ask her out so that she can fall for me? How is that even making any sense?!" Harry cried in exasperation.

"It's not like that, mate," Dean replied. "It's just that you've been spending way too much time around her and you just need to take a step back. Come on, you're not even going to Hogsmeade this weekend because you want to stay back and help Hermione plan the prefect's schedule and study with her."

"You do realise that if I don't stay with her, that means Hermione has to plan the prefect's schedule with Malfoy since he's Head Boy." Harry retorted. "Do you honestly expect me to leave her alone with Draco Fucking Malfoy?! He'll take advantage of her."

"Are you afraid she's going to fall for him?" Neville asked as Harry glared daggers at him. "No, of course not! But I wouldn't put it past the ferret to try something."

"Yeesh, Harry. You're whipped." Seamus laughed as Harry glared at him.

"So what do you suggest I do then, huh? Since you're all love experts all of a sudden." Harry shouted as everyone grew silent. Suddenly, Seamus's eyes began to widen as he smacked his hand on the foot of his bed.

"I got it!" Seamus said as he grinned at the group. "Mates, let's look at the facts. The problem with Harry is that he's spending way too much time with Hermione and so Hermione has gotten comfortable to the fact that Harry would always be there for her. What we need is to turn it around, to get Hermione to notice just how empty her life would be if she wasn't Harry Potter's number one priority. And what's the best way for a girl to notice her guy best friend is seemingly uninterested in her? With another girl!"

"You want Harry to make Hermione… _jealous_?" Dean exclaimed as the thought dawned upon the others.

"I mean, think about it. You all remember how jealous Hermione was when she found out that Ron and Lavender were dating." Seamus said.

"Hermione was jealous….?" Ron said in astonishment.

"She set a pack of birds on you, mate," Dean replied. "She might not have been jealous of Lavender in the way you're thinking of but she was definitely jealous of the fact that she was losing you to Lavender," Dean explained as Harry, Neville, and Seamus nodded.

"Precisely!" Seamus exclaimed. "All we have to do is to get Harry to go with Hogsmeade with another girl. Hermione will be shocked when she realises that she's no longer the centre of your universe. If she got so worked up over Ron with Lavender, who knows how she would feel if you, Harry, were out with another girl?"

"I hate to admit it but Seamus is right," Neville said as Harry gaped at all four boys.

"You're all out of your mind!"

"Harry, let me paint a scenario for you," Seamus said as he placed his arm around Harry. "Scenario number one, you continue on your path with always spending time with Hermione. You think to yourself, hey maybe she'll see me in a different light and wants to be more than friends even though in your entire history together, Hermione has never seen you anything more than just a best friend and a brother-figure. Eventually, you get up the courage to ask her out only to find that she just wants to best friends. You start to get bitter and the pair of you avoid each other, leading to the end of your friendship. Or scenario number two, you give your attention to another girl. Hermione notices that you're spending less and less time with her and what's worse, it seems like another girl has gotten your attention. Hermione begins to feel frustrated that you're not that for her and that frustration will turn to jealousy. Then Hermione realises that you are the guy she wants to spend time with and so she will plead for your companionship while seeing you in a new light giving a much better chance of her falling for you than ever before."

"Paints quite the extreme future, doesn't he?" Dean whispered as he nudged Neville on his shoulders.

"This isn't a love story, mate. This is real life and nothing gets a girl to notice you better than jealousy." Seamus said Harry gave him a blank stare before groaning out loud.

"So which girl do you suggest I ask to spend a day at Hogsmeade with me?" Harry asked reluctantly.

"Well, you could ask Parvati Patil. Or Ginny." Dean said as Ron glared daggers at him as Seamus shook his head.

"No, you prats. Harry can't ask someone whose friends with Hermione. That's not going to make her jealous. No, what Harry needs is a girl that will make Hermione jealous. Someone just as smart and serious as her and arguably even more beautiful than Hermione herself."

"Who then?" Ron asked as Seamus flashed him a wicked grin.

"You gave me the idea, mate, when you got so worked up over Draco. Who better than a Slytherin to use to make someone jealous and in this case, I'm jealous that you might get to spend time with her. I'm talking of course about Daphne Greengrass." Seamus said as Harry snorted derisively.

"Right, mate. I'm just going to go up and ask Daphne freaking Greengrass to go to Hogsmeade with me. No biggie."

"She might consider it," Neville said hopefully as Dean scoffed at the notion.

"Please. If perfect boy Cedric Diggory and the charming Roger Davies couldn't get a date with Daphne, what hope is there for us? Really, Seamus, how is Harry going to ask the most beautiful witch in all of Hogwarts to go out with him?"

"Simple. Through her friend, of course. I'm sure Daphne wouldn't mind accompanying Harry to Hogsmeade as long as they're part of a double date." Seamus said as he smirked at Ron whose eyes began to bulge out of its sockets.

"OH BLOODY HELL! NO! Absolutely not!" Ron roared as he shook his head.

"Come on, mate." Seamus pleaded. "All you have to do is go to Hogsmeade with Tracey and ask her to convince Daphne to tag along as backup while you bring Harry as backup. That way, Harry won't actually be on a date with Daphne while Hermione will be alone at Hogwarts, furious at the thought that Harry is out with the Ice Queen instead of her. It's perfect."

"I'm not going to ask Tracey on a date! We're just friends." Ron yelled.

"Me thinks the wizard doth protest too much." Dean snickered as Ron threw a pillow at him.

"Me thinks you should shut your mouth before I stuff my broomstick up your arse. No, Seamus, absolutely not." Ron replied firmly. "I'm not asking Tracey on a date."

"Who said anything about date?!" Seamus spoke.

"YOU DID! You said double date!"

"Urgghhh, fine! It's not a date. It's an outing, then." Seamus groaned before grabbing Ron by his shoulders. "Mate, all you have to do is get Daphne and Harry to spend time together with you and Tracey. Just hang out or something. That way, Hermione can be jealous and Harry can get together with her. Your mate needs you, Ron. Think about how many times Harry helped you out with Lavender. Gotta pay it back, mate." Seamus said as Ron let out a groan of frustration before turning to Harry.

"Mate, it's okay," Harry said as he placed his hand on Ron's shoulder. "If you don't want to do it, it's fine. I can spend the day with Hermione at Hogwarts." As Ron stared into the piercing green eyes of Harry, thoughts of Hermione and Harry spending the day together flooded his mind and it was in that moment that Ron knew there was only one course of action to take.

…..

To say that Draco Malfoy was angry would be an understatement. He was absolutely furious as he paced about within his Head Boy's room, occasionally kicking an object and yelling out in frustration. Of all the stupid things his friends would do, Draco never expected them to do something like this. Didn't they know how damaging this was to his reputation, never mind that of Salazar Slytherin? Draco threw a book against the wall in anger as a knock was heard on his bedroom door before it swung open and Tracey Davis walked into his room.

"You summon me, your Highness," Tracey said sarcastically as she looked around his room. "Please tell me you're redecorating and not just living in filth."

"You got some nerve talking to me about filth," Draco said, fuming in anger. "What's this I heard about you and Daphne going to Hogsmeade with Potter and Weasley? Have you lost your freaking mind?!"

Tracy shut the door before narrowing her eyes at Draco. "What I do is none of your business, Malfoy."

"It is my business!" Malfoy yelled. "What do you think everyone is going to say when they noticed how my two close friends are going on a date with my sworn enemies? Did you even fathom what the repercussions could be? What this will do to us as Slytherins?! You're soiling our reputation."

"Oh right! Because we have such a lofty reputation to uphold." Tracey laughed sarcastically. "Or did you forget all about that now that you're spending your nights in tall, ivory towers while the rest squat in the dungeons."

"Don't try to turn this on me, Tracey!" Draco snarled. "Tell me you haven't got a thing for Weasley. Tell me that this is just some game to mess with them."

"What I do with Ron is none of your fucking business, Malfoy!" Tracey snapped. "So back off!"

" _Ron?!"_ Draco whispered scornfully as he glared at her. "Is that what you call him, now that you think you're friends with him? He's not your friend, you dumb bitch!"

"Call me bitch one more time and I will hex your bollocks off," Tracey whispered warningly as she narrowed her eyes at him. Though he felt a slight tinge of guilt, Draco was still too angry to back down.

"You know what? I don't give a fuck. Maybe you're just mentally insane for the moment but whatever it is, this needs to stop. You need to stop hanging around Weasley."

"His name is Ron and who the hell do you think you are?!" Tracey cried, outraged at Draco was saying.

"I'm the Head Boy as well as the prefect of the house, not to mention our Slytherin House Captain. Your relationship with Weasley is putting all our chances at the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup in jeopardy. So either you end it with him or I'll go to Professor Snape for support!"

"Go screw yourself, Draco," Tracey said as she headed for the door. "You're not my father!"

As soon as Tracey uttered the words, Draco Malfoy froze. In his head, he could see the memory of his mother whispering to him again.

 _Draco, there's something you need to know._

As Draco Malfoy pulled himself away from his thoughts, a sharp pang of guilt rushed through his body. Bolting from his room, he caught Tracey at the foot of the stairs.

"Tracey, I'm sorry."

"Go away," Tracey said, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Tracey, please, I'm sorry. I'm a prat." Draco said desperately as he grabbed her arm. "I didn't mean anything of what I just said. Could you please follow me back to my room so I can explain?" Draco pleaded as Tracey stopped in her tracks to turn and glare at him.

"I'm really sorry, Tracey." Draco sighed. Tracey said nothing as she looked out into the corridor before turning around to walk back into Draco's room. Draco heaved a sigh of relief. Entering his room, he could see that Tracey was sitting at the foot of his bed.

"Tracey…I just….it's just that we're talking about Weasley and Potter here." Draco tried to explain, only for Tracey to glare at him.

"My relationship with Ron is none of your business, do you understand?" Tracey whispered as she crossed her arms. "I don't even know why you care so much anyways."

"Because I don't want to see you get hurt," Draco replied as he sat next to her. Tracey gave a derisive laugh.

"Oh please, that's not why. You don't care about me, Malfoy. This is about you, about your ego."

"Ok fine, I'll admit it," Draco replied in a resigned tone. "I don't like Weasley. I sure as hell don't like Potter. We've been at odds ever since our first year. It's just who I am." Draco sighed. "But you're right. It is none of my business. If you want to be with Weasley, do what you want."

Tracey's expression softened as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's not that bad, you know, Ron Weasley. And you should get to know him better if you are going to pursue Hermione like you told Blaise."

Draco gave a laugh. "I'm not going to get to know Granger's friends just to get her."

"What are you going to do, huh? Charm her socks off? Impress her with your wealth?" Tracey asked in a caustic tone as she shook her head. "Hermione isn't that type of girl. You'll lose the bet before you know it."

"Why do you care if I lose the bet or not?"

"Because…" Tracey said before hesitating. All of a sudden, an idea struck her. "Because I have a bet with Ron that you can get Hermione before Harry gets her."

"Potter wants Granger?" Draco said incredulously before snorting out loud. "Should have known. And you bet with Weasley that I can get Granger before Potter does? Why?"

"To prove that Slytherins can get Gryffindors," Tracey said casually as she shrugged her shoulders. "Why do you think Daphne and I are going out with Ron and Harry this weekend? So that you can get some alone time with Hermione."

"Even if that was true, Granger will never stay. She'll want to go to Hogsmeade." Draco replied.

"So convince her," Tracey said as she smiled at him. "Or is the Malfoy charm just another myth? Look, you and I both have bets to win. So why not we work together? Let me help you so that you can win the bet and the broomstick while I win my bet. Deal?"

Draco gave Tracey a smirk before nodding his head. "Deal."

"Excellent!" Tracey cried out as she grinned at him. "Let's start with the first order of business. You can't insult or make fun of Harry or Ron anymore."

"You got to be kidding- "

"I mean it, Draco," Tracey said firmly. "I told you Hermione isn't one of those girls who you can just flirt with and charm. Trust me, if you want to get her, you have to get along with her best friends. Otherwise, it's just never going to happen. Trust me, if it came down to you or Harry and Ron, she will always pick the latter."

"So I need to be friends with those two?" Draco said disgustedly.

"Who said anything about friends. Just be civil. Amicable. Ignore that need to take the mickey out of them and trust me, your chances of getting her increases exponentially."

"Ok fine." Draco sighed in a resigned tone. "Any other advice?"

"Yes," Tracey said as she clapped her hands. "You need to show her some vulnerability."

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's like this," Tracey explained as she took his hand. "Right now, Hermione Granger thinks that you're nothing more than this bigoted, arrogant little prick who only thinks very highly of himself and looks down on others. Truth is, she's not far from it and I kind of agree with the assessment."

"Hey!"

"Luckily for me." Tracey continued, ignoring Draco in the process. "You seem less of an arse ever since the fifth year than you usually are so we have that working for us. But right now, we need Hermione Granger to see you in a new light."

"A new light?" Draco questioned.

"Yes, Draco, Hermione isn't going to open up to you if you don't show her some vulnerability. And she's not going to get closer to you if you don't open up. Surely there's something you can tell her about yourself that will help."

Draco pondered for a moment. There was indeed a few things that he kept close to his chest and yet, Draco had never considered for a moment telling anyone about them, let alone Hermione Granger.

"Look, it doesn't have to be something big." Tracey sighed. "Just something that you can get off your chest without it being too much trouble. Surely there's something for you."

"I don't know…." Draco replied in a conflicted tone. Tracey stared at Draco for a moment. It was strange to her how in the entire seven years she knew him, Draco Malfoy never shared much about his life other than his father's wealth. She often saw him, especially during the past two years, looking rather concerned and even anxious at times and yet, Draco never spoke to anyone. Pansy would often tell her and Daphne that Draco was just worried about school stuff though it was obvious that that was a lie. It was then that Tracey made up her mind. The best way to get people to admit some issues that they were facing was to admit some yourself and although no one except Daphne knew this about her, Tracey trusted Malfoy to keep it a secret.

"Draco, you know when you ask whether there was something going on between me and Ron?" Tracey said as Draco stared at her. "Well, I want to let you know that there's nothing to worry about. Even if for some reason, we develop feelings for each other, I can't be with Ron Weasley."

"Why?" Draco asked curiously.

Tracey heaved a sigh before revealing her secret. She could see Draco's eyes widening as she started to tell the story. Over time, Tracey often wished that she would miss out on certain details, maybe even forget the important parts. Yet as she recalled what happened to her, Tracey knew in her heart that forgetting it was never going to be a possibility. The memories would haunt her for the rest of her life.

…..

"Merlin…" Draco whispered in horror as Tracey finished telling the story. "You went through all that? Alone?!"

Tracey nodded her head. "Daphne knows about it, of course, but I only told her after it happened." She could see Draco giving her a sympathetic look as she felt her eyes getting wet. Before Tracey knew what was happening, she felt two arms pull her close to a chest.

"I'm sorry," Draco whispered as he enveloped her in a hug. Tracey was shocked, to say the least. In all her time at Hogwarts, she had never seen Draco give anyone a hug except for his mother and yet, here she was experiencing one for the first time. As she sunk deeper into the warmth of his hug, for the first time in her life, Tracey Davis considered Draco to be a true friend.

"You should have told me. I would have dealt with it." Draco whispered as he pulled away. Tracey gave him a smile and shrugged her shoulders. "What's done, it's done. Draco, this goes without saying but obviously, you can't speak about it to –"

Draco raised his hand. "No, of course not. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks, Draco."

"So you're really not going to date…Ron?" Draco said as he gave her a bittersweet smile. Tracey beamed at him for the use of Ron's first name.

"How can I? I don't think I can do it anymore." Tracey sighed before giving Draco a smile. "Anyways, that was just to show you that sometimes, it's good to let these things off your chest. Trust me, show that side to Hermione as well as the caring bit you just did and she'll see you differently."

"Okay." Draco grinned.

"And no insulting Ron or Harry," Tracey said firmly as Draco gave a scowl before nodding reluctantly. Smiling at him, Tracey exited the room, leaving Draco alone with his thoughts.

Draco reached into his robes and pulled out a photograph of his family. In the photograph, Narcissa Malfoy was holding up a three-year-old Draco as his father, Lucius beamed proudly next to him. Draco sighed as he ran his finger over his mother's face.

 _Draco, there's something you need to know._

 _It's about your father._

….

 **A/N: For those of you thinking that by introducing Daphne, it will mean that Harry or Draco gets paired up with her, I have to say that it's not going to be as simple as that. I know that some writers introduce an external love interest as a possibility to satisfy the triangle but in this case, it's not that clear-cut. Both Harry and Draco have an equal chance to get Hermione Granger.**

 **I know it's not really book canon but take it that Hermione looks like Emma Watson and it makes it easier to understand why guys would fight for her: )**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! It's just that with Christmas, I had to return back to my parent's home, only to realise that I've forgotten to bring my laptop. So this entire chapter had to be typed on my phone as I gave it to one of my friends to post.**

 **This chapter was inspired by my cousin who brought this to my attention when we were watching the Notebook the other day. Her thoughts actually helped me to carve out this part of Tracey which is good as it will help to bring in her backstory.**

 **I want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed the story! Haha, just in case anyone is wondering, I'm sorry but this won't be a triad fanfic. I do appreciate the suggestion, though, so thank you** **!** **This story will have a slow burn Dramione and Harmione to it but no harem or threesomes. But I'm glad that you guys are taking an interest in it! Thank you! Please forgive my grammatical errors though. It's difficult to type out on a phone.**

 **With that, here is chapter five! Hope you enjoy it and if you don't mind, please review! Thank you for reading my fic!**

 **Disclaimer: It ain't mine. It's JK Rowling's.**

 **WHAT'S LOVE, GOT TO DO, GOT TO DO WITH IT?**

Chapter 5: The Problem with Romance

"Ron, are you sure about this?" Harry said as he and Ron waited at the Entrance Hall. Ron nodded his head, not listening to a word Harry was saying. Over the past few days, Ron's mind was clearly only on one person. Someone whom until very recently became available and yet, he, Ron Weasley, could not make a move on her.

 _Hermione Granger_

Ever since Ron and Harry had, in Hermione's own words to him during their fourth-year, realised that she was a girl, Ron realised he had started to fall for his best friend. When Harry confessed to having feelings for Hermione, it was like a bomb had just been dropped on him. While Ron admitted to himself that he should have seen it coming, it was still no less painful than to hear the words coming out of Harry's mouth. At that moment when Harry confessed, Ron wanted nothing more than to scream and yell at his best friend for even thinking such a thing and yet the more he stared at Harry and the more he thought about it, Harry did seem like a better match for Hermione.

Harry was the Captain of the Quidditch team as well as a prefect while Hermione was Head Girl. They both had links to the Muggle world and could talk about more things than Ron and Hermione ever could. Not to mention that Harry was good-looking and though he wasn't as tall as Ron, Harry did manage to turn some girl's heads as well. The thought of Hermione with Krum had sort of diffused any anger and jealousy towards Harry and instead, brought on a wave of guilt having the same crush as his best friend. Knowing that Hermione wouldn't possibly stay with Krum forever, Ron took matters into his own hands by dating Lavender.

Ron knew in his heart that Lavender and he weren't perfect and yet, for a sixteen-year-old boy who just wanted to experience someone loving and caring for him, Lavender did exactly that. Yet it was a relationship built on lust and desire and as soon as the attraction wore off, Ron ended things with Lavender. Yet this brought him straight back into his original dilemma. Though Tracey's project did make Ron seemed uncomfortable, it did also provide him with some added impetus not to let Hermione end up with Draco, a thought that was unimaginable in his mind. Whatever it was, Ron knew the reason why he was doing what he was doing.

 _I'm doing it for Harry_

"RON!" Harry yelled as he tapped Ron hard on the shoulder, breaking the redhead's concentration.

"What?"

"I'm going to go see Hermione. See if she wants anything from Hogsmeade."

"Ok fine…wait..no!" Ron said as he grabbed Harry's robes. "You can't do that, mate!"

"Why not?!" Harry asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Because Seamus said you might do something like this and to stop you if I have to." Ron sighed as Harry struggled to break free. "Look, mate, you need to show her that you don't care about her…"

"But I do care about her!" Harry snapped.

"I know that!" Ron snapped back. "But you need to calm down and just put Hermione out of your mind for the moment. Right now, Hermione is probably wondering why you and I just skipped out to Hogsmeade without saying goodbye. That's how we start making her jealous. Please, mate!"

"Fine!" Harry shouted before letting out a resigned sigh. "Where the heck are Tracey and Daphne anyways?"

"They should be coming… Damn." Ron said as he glanced down the corridor to see two girls walking towards them. The first was a blonde-haired witch with a lean figure who had every boy wizard doing double-takes with some even whistling out loud. The second was a brown-haired witch in a hairband smiling at Ron as she waved.

"You know what, mate. Maybe this isn't so bad." Harry said as he smirked at Seamus who stood nearby ogling the figure of Daphne Greengrass. "Seamus probably wishes he could join us."

"Yeah, probably." Ron said as he waved back at the brown-haired girl, his eyes firmly fixed on Tracey Davis.

…..

"So what did you tell Hermione when you said you had to go to Hogsmeade with me and Daphne?" Tracey whispered to Ron as the four headed towards the Three Broomsticks. For some reason, Daphne had trailed behind with Harry as Ron caught her giving Tracey a wink.

"Nothing. Hermione came to us saying that she can't go to Hogsmeade because she had work to do. Naturally, Harry wanted to stay but I convinced him to come with us. Hermione has no idea that we're out together with you two."

"Wait, you didn't tell her?! Then how are you supposed to make her…oh wait…that's good!" Tracey said as she clapped her hands. "Draco is probably going to tell her and Hermione will be gobsmacked to think the both of you are out on dates…Not that this is a date, of course!" Tracey said hastily as Ron nodded. The four reached the Three Broomsticks and found a table. Tracey could see that all eyes were on them, many of their schoolmates whispering amongst themselves while some boys looked at Harry with envy at being able to sit together with Daphne.

"Hey, Ron," Daphne spoke up, much to the surprise of both himself and Harry. It was strange enough that Daphne was even speaking and hanging out with them, let alone using his first name. "Yeah, Daphne?" Ron said

"Why is your ex looking at us like she wants to kill us or something?" Daphne exclaimed as she pointed towards the group of Seamus, Dean, Lavender, and Parvati. Ron groaned as Harry snickered as Lavender appeared to be glaring at Tracey who was seated next to him. Before Ron could say anything, Tracey spoke up.

"Ignore her," Tracey said dryly as she glared back at Lavender. Ron could feel the Slytherin stiffen up in the booth next to him as he looked to Harry for help. Harry shrugged his shoulders in response.

"She's just being a bimbo. Seriously, Ron, you could do better." Daphne said as she took a sip of her Butterbeer.

"Errr… thanks." Ron replied, unsure of how to take Daphne's compliment. This was followed by a moment of awkwardness, to which Harry became the one to break the silence.

"So, Tracey," Harry spoke as he turned to the Slytherin. "Ron tells me that you and he are working on a Muggle Studies essay about love."

Daphne snorted in her drink as Tracey turned to glare at Ron who nodded at Harry. "That's right; we are working on that essay together."

"Love? Seriously, Tracey? That's what you and Ron have to work on? Imagine that." Daphne giggled as she winked at Tracey who groaned in response.

"So what exactly do you have to write about? I mean, the topic is quite vague, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"Well," Tracey said as she composed herself. "Ron and I are working on the idea of love and our focus group are on teenagers such as ourselves. How do we as teenagers deal with love? How do we cope with it? How does one go around pursuing love?"

"Ahhh." Harry nodded as he smirked at Ron. "I see. So tell me, you honestly believe that if I were to stay away from Hermione, it would help me get her in the long run?"

"Honestly, yes," Tracey said as Daphne gave her a questioning look. "I mean, think about it. When Muggle or wizarding movies and books talk about love, the one pairing that many go for is the idea of you falling for your best friend. Yet, this only works if your best friend has feelings for you. Most stories just skip over it or rush this process so that they can get down to putting two people together who, in reality, should have nothing but platonic love for each other."

"Really?" Harry sighed as he fiddled with his wand. "But wouldn't it be dangerous? I mean, if I were to spend time away from her, wouldn't that just push her into the arms of someone else?"

"If that's the case, then maybe she never was the one for you," Tracey replied. "Honestly, if a girl likes you, she would eventually have these feelings but if Granger were to make a move, she would have done so by now. What you need to do is to stay away from Granger so that you move from being that clingy, emotional punching bag to a viable love interest."

"That explains why Harry is here with us," Daphne whispered to Tracey. "You just want him away from Granger, not as back up for your date. What kind of game are you playing here, Tracey?"

"Firstly, this is not a date!" Tracey whispered back. "Secondly, I'm not playing any games. Ron wants Harry to end up with Hermione so I'm helping him."

"Really? So you have Weasley's best interests at heart, do you?"

"Shut up!"

"Guys?" Harry said as he and Ron stared at the two witches awkwardly. "What are you all whispering about?"

"Nothing!" Daphne cried rather sharply as Harry flinched slightly in his seat. "Let's change the topic, shall we?"

"Okay," Ron replied as he turned to Harry. "Mate, we have to include Muggle sources in our essay. Can you recommend any muggle movies about love that we can refer to?"

"Hmmmm." Harry thought for a moment before smiling. "Well, off the top of my head I would have to say the Notebook comes to mind."

Tracey lets out a snort of derision.

"What?!" Harry said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "What do you have against the Notebook?"

"Excuse me, but for the two Pureblood people at this table, can someone tell us about the Notebook?" Daphne spoke as Ron nodded.

"The Notebook is a romantic story about two lovers, Noah and Allie," Harry explained as he glared at Tracey. "In 1940, Noah who comes from a poor background meets Allie, an heiress from a wealthy family, at a carnival. They have a summer love affair where they both fall madly in love with each other. However, Allie's family gets news of their romance and after an argument; Allie is banned from seeing Noah again by her family who feels that their daughter isn't good enough for him. Her parents take her away and Noah, unable to be with Allie, enlist for service for the war. Noah tries to write letters to Allie but they get intercepted by her mother, Anne, who hides them."

"The war?" Ron asked.

"Muggle war, Ron." Harry continued to elaborate. "Anyways, while Allie was away from Noah, she meets this captain named Lon Hammond Jr. After a few years, they become engaged and her parents couldn't be happier. During their engagement, Allie sees a newspaper where a man has restored a house she loved to her specifications. That man is Noah and she goes to see him. Allie goes to see him and they rekindle their relationship with approval from her mother. Later in the future, when they're old, Allie has dementia and Noah tells her the story of how they came to be every day until one day, they both passed peacefully in their sleep. The Notebook is like the quintessential story for romantic love of the ages, the heart-aching story of enduring love. I don't see how you could possibly have a problem with it, Tracey."

"That's because you might have skipped over a part," Tracey said icily as she clenched her fists.

"What part?" Harry asked.

"How about the part when Allie returns to see Noah, they rekindle their romance and make love to each other WHILE she was engaged to Lon Hammond Jr?"

"Allie had doubts about leaving Lon for Noah! She was conflicted! That's what makes the Notebook so good." Harry argued as Tracey slammed her fists on the table.

"It's cheating. She cheated on Lon to be with Noah!"

"She was always meant to be with Noah. Noah was who Allie loves."

"You don't get it, do you?" Tracey sighed as she stared at the other three. "Let's look at the story from another perspective. Let's say you're Lon Hammond. You serve your time in the war and develop this heroic reputation and you fall for this girl named Allie who says she's moved on and agrees to be engaged with you. Then she asks to go away for a while and you let her because you trust her only to realise she's been having an affair behind your back and cancels the engagement because you aren't the person whom she loves despite agreeing to be engaged to you. Your romantic movie just glosses over the fact that Allie cheated because you and I and everyone who is an audience to this love story just want Noah and Allie to be together at long last. In other words, it's okay to cheat so long as you're in love."

"Well, technically, she was engaged so she didn't exactly… cheat?" Ron said, hoping to appease Tracey who turns her glare towards him.

"Really, Ron? Really?"

"She didn't expect to see Noah again! It's not her fault that her true love suddenly appeared." Harry replied, his expression softening after Tracey's speech.

"Okay then, let's just say Lon and Allie had gotten married. And they have kids. Would you be sympathetic to Allie if she were to go off with Noah?" Tracey replied.

"But they didn't get married nor did they have kids!" Harry retorted.

"Exactly! The author saves us from having to be in this predicament simply because he wants us to sympathise more for Allie and Noah!" Tracey snapped. "That's the problem with love stories that have infidelity, ain't it? They so badly want to put two characters together so they do their best to portray these characters as sympathetic so that we would root for them. Think about it. In these stories that involve cheating in order to achieve true love, how are the partners that get cheated on portrayed as? Bad people! They're often seen as abusive and uncaring individuals who in most stories are the ones who cheat first so that we as the audience feel justified that we are supporting the cheaters. I have to give credit to Nicholas Sparks, the one who wrote the Notebook, for not portraying Lon Hammond as some abusive and ungrateful individual who is a cheater himself but it doesn't change the fact that my point still stands, that we as a society, can accept infidelity in the face of true love because it has been romanticised to a point that we no longer feel guilty for doing so."

Harry and Ron said nothing as they exchanged looks with each other. Out of the corner of her eye, Tracey could see Daphne giving her a sympathetic look. Releasing a sigh, Tracey's expression began to soften.

"I'm sorry I got so carried away," Tracey replied as she took a swig of Butterbeer. "I just get so tired of stories always talking about true love and glossing over facts such as infidelity and not realising the impact it has on relationships. Relationships used to be sacred, like getting into one means that you truly love the person even if you have previous or other possible love interests and that breaking one off or cheating in a relationship shouldn't be something we all just gloss over."

"But what if you really love someone who is in a relationship? Shouldn't you fight for the person?" Harry asked as Tracey gave him a bittersweet smile.

"You can, of course," Tracey said with a sigh. "If you don't mind being the villain."

…

If there was one thing Draco Malfoy hated, it was being stuck in his room on the weekend. Normally, this would be the time when he would go to Hogsmeade to hang out with his friends or even take a Portkey home, even if it meant just staying there for the night. It wasn't allowed, of course, but his father had many connections to black market Portkey traders, some of whom lived at Hogsmeade. Yet today he was being forced to stay in his room while he and Granger worked out schedules for the prefects as well as other school matters.

Being with Granger both came with positive and negative issues. On the plus side, Draco relished the chance to be alone with one of the prettiest girls in Hogwarts in his room, though sadly, unlike many who preferred the comfort of his bed, Granger and he were working at his table in the middle of the room. The thought of having Butterbeer in Hogsmeade did make him slightly regret the stupid bet he had with Blaise and yet, staring at Granger as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, Draco couldn't help but admire the beauty that was right in front of him.

The problem with puberty, Draco thought, was that you can't ever tell if a person was going to remain a toad the rest of their lives or if they were to blossom into the princes and princesses you see before you. He often considered Granger to be the worst out of the Golden Trio, a nickname given to the group of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. While Potter was a half-blood, he did come from a respected family of Purebloods through his father and Weasley's family, despite their poor status, was Pureblood as well. Granger, however, was not and it incensed him even further that this lowly witch would continue to beat him in every area of his studies to the point that Draco was forced to take up subjects like Divination and Muggle Studies just to keep up with her. He had hated her in his first few years at Hogwarts, the hate boiling over when she attacked his face during the time of Buckbeak's execution and yet the past two years had forced him to develop another perspective of Hermione Granger, one that was further helped by her suddenly blossoming into a gorgeous creature.

It was when Draco was taking a sneak peek at the buttoned-up collar of Hermione and wondering just how she would look if she showed her cleavage more that Hermione let out another grunt of frustration, one that Draco knew was not because of the work they had before them.

"What?" Draco asked, wanting to sound annoyed but coming across as slightly more concerned than usual.

"Nothing." Hermione snapped as she proceeded to press her quill so hard on the parchment that the tip pierced through. "Oh, for Merlin's sake!"

"Maybe you should take a break," Draco replied as Hermione glared at him.

"And what? Leave you to do this all by yourself? No thanks, the last time I did that, you made sure that the other houses had more places to patrol while you get to roam about the kitchens."

"Then stop with the whining and get back to work!" Draco retorted as Hermione threw her quill down on the desk.

" .Not. Whining!" Hermione roared as Draco rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. You Gryffindors are such babies."

"Compared to you Slytherins? Please."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're one to talk about whining especially when you lot always run to Professor Snape to ask for his help every single time!"

"That's because unlike you Gryffindors we don't break the rules and then try to cover it up. We actually take responsibility for our actions."

"Right! So when Blaise and Pansy hexed Eloise Midgen two days ago, telling Professor Snape that you thought she was going to attack them was taking responsibility was it? Especially since she had no wand with her and it was a pre-meditated attack!"

"Whatever, Granger." Draco scoffed. "I don't have time for this nonsense."

"Then leave why don't you?" Hermione growled. "I can finish this all by myself."

"I know you can, Granger, but you see, I don't want my schedule being tarnished by a…"

"By a what? A Mudblood?" Hermione snapped as she glowered at him. "That's what you were going to say, weren't you?"

"Actually, I was going for either Gryffindor or girl but I can do both," Draco smirked as Hermione glared at him. "I'm not the one going to call you a Mudblood."

"Why not?" Hermione asked. "You never had a problem with it before."

"Things change," Draco said as Hermione snorted. For some reason, this made Draco feel agitated as he threw his quill down on the parchment.

"Okay, I've had it. What is your deal with me, Granger?"

"My deal is that I find it hard to believe that someone who has been calling me names since my first year now that doesn't want to do anymore."

"In case, you haven't noticed, I've been doing it for a while. Not calling you those names." Draco responded as Hermione gave him a curious look.

"That is…. true," Hermione said, her expression switching from anger to curiosity. "Why did you stop calling me Mudblood?"

"I just…can we just get back to work?" Draco sighed as he took up the schedule. "Okay, so Goldstein and Patil will do the fifth and sixth corridors of – "

"Hang on a minute," Hermione spoke as she pushed the schedule down on his desk. Draco could see her silently judging him as she continued to stare. At the back of his head, he could hear Tracey calling out to him.

 _She needs to see you a new light!_

Draco let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine, Granger. Do you really want to know the truth?"

"Yes. I would."

…..

 _Three years ago_

" _Quite a game, wasn't it?" Lucius said to Draco as Draco beamed at his father. "Who would have thought that the Irish would win, eh? But then again, they are the superior team."_

" _Krum was good," Draco replied as Lucius nodded._

" _He comes from a very well-to-do family, not to mention a very respectable school. I had wished to send you there instead but alas, for appearance's sake', I needed to send you to Hogwarts. If only Salazar was still alive to see what has become of his beloved school."_

" _So Krum would be coming to Hogwarts, won't he? I mean, he's still a student in Drumstrang." Draco said as Lucius smiled as they walked towards their tent. Unlike others around him, the Malfoy's tent was quite a sight to behold when it came to the sizes of tents. Outside the tent looked like a small house while inside, it had the space of two ballrooms not to mention, several floors. As they entered, Draco saw a few of his father's friends waiting for him._

" _Is it prepared?" Lucius asked calmly as one of the friends, Macnair, smiled as he nodded to the staircase that led down below. Lucius nodded his head before turning to Narcissa. "Take Draco to his room," Lucius said as Narcissa nodded while motioning Draco to follow her. As the pair walked to his room, Draco could see most of the wizards and witches who were waiting for his father follow him downstairs while a few lingered on top._

" _Join you guys in a moment. Got to liven the party outside." One of the wizards yelled as he and his friends walked out of the tent._

" _Mother, what is Father doing?" Draco asked as Narcissa gave him a strange look. Putting a finger to her lips, Narcissa led Draco into his room._

" _Your father has some business he needs to attend to," Narcissa spoke as she closed the door behind her. Draco sighed for a moment before pacing about the room. He had often wondered what his father and his mates get around to during their private meetings. Who knew what his father was discussing? Business, perhaps? But shouldn't he, the heir to the Malfoy empire, be present so that he could be prepared to take over once the time came. Draco deliberated for a few more minutes before deciding to take action._

 _Sneaking out of his room, Draco tiptoed down the stairs. The tent had four floors with two of its floors comprising the basement. As Draco descended down the stairs, he could hear his father's voice booming and what sounded like a hard bang on a table as gales of laughter ascended towards him. Not wanting his presence known, Draco crept down to a landing just before the final set of stairs as he peered into the basement. There, he could see his father standing in front of a large desk while most of his friends sat in front of him, each with wands in their hands._

" _Do I hear seventy?" a wizard, seated next to Lucius spoke as another witch raised her wand. Draco stared at his father who held what looked like a large egg-shaped ornament in his hand. The wizard, who had spoken, looked familiar to him. Only with a second look, did Draco recognised Mr. Borgin, co-owner of Borgin and Burkes seated next to Lucius._

" _Going once, Going twice. Sold to Mrs. Sarah Bulstrode, now the owner of the fabled Faberge egg blessed by the Great Rasputin himself." Borgin yelled as the witch, who Draco now recognised to be Milicent's aunt, smiled happily as the other witches and wizards cheered on._

" _It's an auction!" Draco whispered excitedly to himself. Draco felt glad about his decision to sneak in on his father. If anything, the auction provided him with a means to understanding how his father ran his businesses._

" _We now come to the last item on our list," Lucius spoke gravely as the other wizards and witches who had been murmuring out loud now drew silent. Draco could sense a tension in the air as he stared at the expectant faces of those below him. Whatever the last item was, it was evident that this was the one everyone had been waiting for. Lucius nodded to Borgin who nodded and disappeared to some dark corner of the basement._

" _Now, as you all know, there was difficulty in procuring such an item," Lucius whispered as Draco felt goosebumps all over his skin. "This one took us many weeks of planning especially with the Ministry's eyes on us at all times. Because of this, some of you have complained to me about the scarcity of such an item and I'm here to tell you that if you are successful in purchasing it, you know the responsibility that comes with it. Never let it out of your sight and should you be done of it, dispose of it discreetly. We are not responsible for anything that may befall you should the Ministry catches you with it." Lucius spoke in the authoritative tone that Draco had come to respect. He could see his father glaring out into the crowd._

" _I only have one this time around…SILENCE!" Lucius roared as the others who had been giving shouts of displeasure immediately became quiet. "Let's us not forget what happened to our dear friend Pyrites" Lucius whispered as Draco could see looks on unease on many of their faces._

 _Pyrites sounded familiar, Draco thought as he watched Mr. Borgin struggled to levitate what looked like a large bundle of cloth. Pyrites…Pyrites…wait…wasn't he the one caught with a…_

" _Is the item in acceptable condition?" someone spoke, interrupting Draco's thoughts._

 _Lucius smile. "Slightly less than twenty."_

 _Hoots of joy were heard as Draco peered through the staircase. Borgin had finally brought the bundle of cloth before the crowd. Draco could see him waving his wand as the bundle of cloth dropped down to reveal…_

"What? What did you see?" Hermione asked as Draco grew silent, his body trembling as he recalled the story. For the first time in her life, Hermione felt a strange sense of sympathy for Draco as she watched the blonde haired wizard shake his head.

"I can't say. Not now." Draco whispered as he stood from the table. Without saying a word to Hermione, Draco threw himself on the bed. He could feel the tears building up on his face as Draco stared up at the ceiling. Not wanting Granger to see him cry, Draco turned to his side as he tried desperately to hide his tears away from the Gryffindor witch.

Hermione stared at him as she stood up from the table. In seven years, Hermione had seen many expressions on Draco's face. She had seen the arrogant sneer Draco would give to anyone he thought to be beneath him. She had seen the wicked grin he would give as he continued to bully anyone he felt like bullying. She had seen his look of pure anger as he glared at her after she slapped him back during that third year. She had even seen the look of lust on his face as he admired her figure from far. Yet of all the expressions and emotions expressed by Draco, seeing Draco like this was something completely new.

 _He's actually crying_ Hermione thought as she stared at him, seeing how the once mighty and powerful Draco was now reduced to a ghost of his former self as the wizard in front of her looked to be extremely fragile. Unsure of what to do, Hermione walked over to Draco's side.

"Draco, it's okay," Hermione whispered as she sat next to him. Aware of Hermione's presence next to him, Draco sat up as he wiped away the tears from his face.

"Sorry," Draco said as Hermione could hear alarm bells ringing in her head. _Draco Malfoy is apologising_

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me about what you see." Hermione said as she gave him a smile. To her surprise, the blonde hair wizard stared back at her, his lips contorting into a smile as he stared into her eyes. _He actually looks quite nice when he smiles._

"Thank you." Draco sighed as he averted his gaze away from her. "It's not that I don't want to, Granger, it's that I guess I haven't quite dealt with it yet."

"Hermione."

"What?" Draco said as he turned to face her.

"You kept calling me Granger. That's getting old. If I can call you Draco, you can call me Hermione." Hermione replied, her face holding a stern expression of determination. Staring at her stoic expression and noticing her folded arms, Draco couldn't help but snigger.

"What's so funny?" Hermione asked as Draco continued to chuckle.

"Sorry, it's just that your expression. It's so serious. Call me Hermione!" Draco spoke, mimicking McGonagall's voice.

"I do not sound like that!" Hermione retorted.

"Trust me, you do. I almost expect you to take points away from me." Draco replied as Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, if you're suggesting that I sound like Professor McGonagall, then I supposed to I should take it as a compliment," Hermione replied huffily as Draco shook his head.

"You know, you do take things too seriously. You need to lighten up, _Hermione_." Draco said as the last word as Hermione gave him a small smile.

"Do you want to get back to work?" Hermione asked as she motioned towards the desk. Draco nodded his head. "Just give me a moment," Draco said as Hermione nodded before walking over to the desk.

"Hey, Hermione?" Draco spoke as Hermione turned to face him. "Thank you. For not pushing me."

Hermione said nothing as she beamed at him before walking back to the desk. Wiping the remainder of the tears left on his face, Draco took a deep breath as he made his way back to the table. Inside his head, he could picture everything that happened three years ago. Yet as haunting and despairing as that memory was, it paled in comparison to the one that came almost a year later.

 _It's about your father_ his mother's voice spoke to him as Draco took a seat next to Hermione Granger.

…..

"So what do you think they're talking about?" Tracey asked as she nodded back to Daphne and Harry who had lingered behind them during their walk back to Hogwarts.

"Probably about us," Ron said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It seems like that's what everyone wants to talk about now."

"Tell me about it." Tracey sighed as she walked alongside the redhead. Tracey noticed that she and Ron were walking rather close to each other as every time his fingers brushed gently against her side, she could feel a slight tingle pulsating through her body. The thought of his hand taking hers made Tracey blushed as she looked away to gaze at the trees. _Get a hold of yourself, Tracey!_

"I thought about what you said back at the pub." Ron blurted out as Tracey drew herself away from her thoughts.

"You mean about romanticising infidelity," Tracey replied as once again, her past entered her memory. "What about it?"

"Well," Ron said as they reached the castle. "While I do feel sorry for those like Lon Hammond, I don't blame Allie from wanting to be with Noah. I mean, she really did love him and he did love her."

"So what, Ron?" Tracey replied curtly. "If she really did love her, does that mean her love for Hammond was a lie?"

"No, maybe there was something there but it pales in comparison to what she had for Noah," Ron said as Tracey grunted out. "I mean it! What was Allie supposed to do? Not be in a relationship with Noah when she clearly loved him?"

"No, but she shouldn't have been with Lon in the first place when she's clearly not over Noah." Tracey snapped.

"Why are you taking this so personally?" Ron asked as he stared at her. "Did something happen to you?"

"No!" Tracey replied sharply. "I just don't see how you could make a promise to someone to love them only to break that promise once the prospect of someone else comes into play. A relationship is supposed to be something special, not something you just throw about because you realise you love someone else? If that's the case, why even be in a relationship? I just hate how love stories have evolved to become like this. You're in a relationship but hey, someone else comes along, someone you fall in love with and you're like, I'm done with my relationship. I want to be with that person now. But what about the people who get hurt on the way? Who sympathises with them? Who cares about their story? Oh, that's right. No one! No one cares!"

"Tracey, are you okay?" Ron said as he stared at the witch. Touching her face, Tracey could feel her cheeks becoming wet. She hadn't even realised that she had been crying.

"I'm fine," Tracey said hastily as she motioned at Daphne. "I have to go, Ron. Thanks for today." Tracey replied as she grabbed Daphne's arm before taking off. Ron turned to a bemused Harry who stared after the pair.

"Girls, mate." Ron sighed as he shook his head. Before Harry could utter a word, a figure jumped on him as Ron watched Harry being squeezed by two small arms.

"Harry!" Hermione cried as Harry hugged her back enthusiastically. Ron watched as Hermione's hug seemed to linger slightly longer than necessary as he felt a small pang of jealousy enter his heart.

…

"Wait? So she told you all that?" Hermione asked as Harry nodded his head while the trio walked climbed up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower. Hermione gave Harry and Ron a thoughtful look.

"You know what? Tracey does have a point." Hermione explained as they walked up the steps. "Muggle movies do this quite a bit. Serendipity, Sweet Home Alabama, Made of Honour, Imagine Me and You, Notting Hill, The Wedding Singer, You Got Mail, Letters to Juliet, Leap Year. I mean, most romantic comedies or shows often rely on the unfaithful formula and even if it's justified, it's still cheating. I just, I never really thought about it that way."

"I know. It's like in order to find your true love, you have to fall in love with someone else first. Or at least be in some sort of relationship." Harry reasoned as Hermione smiled at him before turning her attention to Ron.

"Of course, the next common thing in love stories is the star-crossed love formula," Hermione said as Ron gave her a strange look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the idea about lovers from different backgrounds, different social classes or in some cases, different _houses_ get together is fairly common in romance stories." Hermione said as Ron noted her emphasis on the word ' houses'. Ron groaned out loud. Before he could say anything, he noticed how Harry and Hermione were standing awfully close to each other just outside the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Oh, bloody hell! If I said it once, I've said it a thousand times. There's nothing going on with me and Tracey!" Ron snapped.

"Mate…" Harry said, looking alarmed.

"I'm just getting a little sick and tired of people putting me and Tracey together." Ron sighed. Hermione and Harry exchanged looks before Hermione whispered something into Harry's ear. Harry nodded as he turned to enter the portrait while Hermione turned to face Ron.

"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione said as Ron looked at her. He could see her concerned brown eyes staring at him as Ron felt his heart tugging painfully in his chest, turning his thoughts back towards the pub.

" _But what if you really love someone who is in a relationship? Shouldn't you fight for the person?" Harry asked as Tracey gave him a bittersweet smile._

" _You can, of course," Tracey said with a sigh. "If you don't mind being the villain."_

"I'm fine, Mione." Ron sighed as he leaned against the wall. "I'm just tired of all these rumours about me and Tracey going about."

"So they're just rumours, then?" Hermione asked. "Nothing to it?"

"No, of course not."

Hermione sighed before offering Ron a smile. "Well, then I'm sorry for believing in them. It's just that after the whole Lavender incident, I didn't want you to think that I'm not going to be supportive in your relationships, Ron. Whoever you choose to be with, I promise I will stand by that decision." Hermione said as she gave him a hug.

Ron tensed up a little as he felt Hermione's arms around his neck as he leaned in to hug the witch. He could hear his heart pounding loudly in his chest as the butterflies in his stomach started to flap furiously.

"Anyways, how was your day out with Tracey and Daphne?" Hermione asked as she pulled away, leaving Ron feeling slightly disappointed at the loss of contact.

"It was okay. No fun without you, though." Ron laughed uncomfortably as Hermione beamed at him, unaware of his feelings. Turning around to give the password to the Fat Lady, Hermione turned to face him.

"Ron, is Harry interested in Daphne?" Hermione asked softly as the butterflies that were in his stomach started to fall into pieces.

"No, he isn't," Ron replied, his voice a little hoarse as he cleared his throat. "I think she and Harry came along as a backup for me and Tracey."

"Oh," Hermione whispered before giving Ron a smile. "That's good to hear."

"Why is that?"

"Oh, nothing!" Hermione cried hastily as the portrait flew open.

"You go ahead!" Ron blurted out as Hermione gave him a look of confusion. "I'm going to head down to the kitchens. Get myself something."

"Honestly, Ron," Hermione replied as she rolled her eyes. "Is food all you think about?"

"What else is there to think about?" Ron replied while putting on a smile as inside his head, he could hear his thoughts screaming at him.

….

"You look like shit," Blaise said as Tracey pointed a crude gesture in his direction. She hadn't gotten enough sleep last night as she tossed and turned about in bed. Her last conversation with Ron had brought about those bad memories as they invaded her dreams. Twice in the night, Tracey had gotten up in tears as she clung tightly to the pillow in her hand.

She could see Pansy smirking at her as she reached the Slytherin Table for breakfast. Tracey took her usual seat next to Daphne as she helped herself to a couple of bacon sandwiches, courtesy of a nice spread put forth by the Hogwarts elves. As she munched on a sandwich, she could feel all eyes staring at her as she looked up from her plate.

"What?" Tracey asked irritably as she looked around the table. Daphne seemed to have a sympathetic expression on her face while Draco looked uneasily at her as well. Blaise had his usual smug expression while Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be deep in conversation, though Tracey doubted that the nature of the conversation would be thought-provoking in any way. Pansy, however, seemed to sneer in delight at Tracey as she nudged against her arm.

"Can I tell her?" Pansy said as she gazed at the group. Daphne gave Pansy one of her famous, smoldering glares.

"What?" Pansy said as she raised her hands upon noticing Daphne's expression. "She's going to find out sooner or later."

"What am I going to find out?" Tracey said, ignoring Pansy and turning to her best friend. Daphne gave her a sigh.

"Look, it's just on the grapevine and to be fair, I doubt even he would be stupid enough to stay in it for long."

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?!" Tracey said, growing impatient. Daphne said nothing as she pointed her hand towards the Gryffindor table.

Tracey turned towards the table where Potter and his usual gang of friends were seated. They seemed to be laughing and chatting away. There seemed to be nothing quite unusual going on as Tracey's vision zoomed in on a particular redhead. She could see Ron talking with Harry before locking his eyes at her. Tracey waved her hand at him but instead of waving, Ron merely looked away as if trying to pretend not to notice her.

"What's his deal?" Tracey said as she glared angrily at Ron. "This better not be the whole Gryffindor, Slytherin nonsense thing."

"It's not," Daphne said quietly as she motioned for Tracey to stare at the person seated next to Ron. Tracey gasped in shock. Ron was seated next to a witch whose blonde hair was similar to Daphne's and yet their personalities were as far apart as you can imagine as the witch continued to giggle while playing with Ron's red hair.

"What's he doing with that bimbo?" Tracey asked angrily as she glared in the direction of Lavender Brown.

As if she could hear Tracey's question, Lavender turned to face the Slytherin table before noticing Tracey glaring at her. The Gryffindor gave Tracey a wink before placing a hand on Ron's cheek.

 _No, just no, please no!_ Tracey thought as she realised what was happening.

Before she could react, Tracey Davis could only watch in horror as Lavender Brown pulled Ron Weasley away from his conversation as she captured his lips with a tender and loving kiss.

….

 **A/N: Stay tuned for more. We're just getting started.**


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